The Heartache of Infidelity
by Girl of Darkness
Summary: Serena caught Darien and Rei kissing. Will she forgive them? And what happens when Serena misunderstands something and ignores all her friends? Better than it sounds. First SM fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this is my first Sailor Moon fanfic so don't be too harsh on me. As of right now, I don't have a title for this fic but if you have any ideas for a title, I would gladly consider them. Lastly, I would like to thank Icess for helping me improve my story. Either by making some corrections or just simply suggestions, I couldn't have done it without your help. So, thank you:)

Now that I'm done with that, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 1

Darien sat on the park bench waiting for Serena. She was supposed to have been here five minutes ago, but he knew Serena. She was always late. While thinking of all the times Serena had run into him because she was late, he heard a muffled cry. He turned around and saw Rei sitting on a bench in a corner crying. Knowing Serena wasn't going to be there soon, he walked over to Rei to try and comfort her.

"Hey Rei. What's wrong?"he asked gently, not wanting to upset her further.

Rei quickly wiped away her tears and looked up. "Oh, hi Darien." she said and snuffled.

"What's wrong?" he asked once more as he sat next to her.

"Nothing." she said then turned to avert his gaze.

"You can tell me Rei. I promise I won't laugh."

"Look Darien, I know you are trying to help, but I don't want your help. I don't need it."

"Yes you do. Something is bothering you and I want to help."

"Well, I don't remember asking for it."

"I know that, but as a friend, I want to help."

"And as a friend, I'm telling you that I don't want it."

"C'mon Rei, you don't have to be so secretive all the time."

"Just tell me."

"No."

"Please." Darien said in a begging tone.

Rei sighed and said, "Alright." She turned to look at Darien."Chad and I…we...we…broke up." She said softly as more tears began to run down her cheeks once more.

"Oh Rei, I'm so sorry."Darien sympathized.

After a few more moments of comforting Rei and telling her how sorry he was, Rei calmed down and sighed."It's alright. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Darien slowly put his arms around her. She gave a short gasp, but didn't complain. She moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. She knew she should have pulled away, but his comfort was needed too much. She began to cry again, but even harder. Darien was shocked that Rei had moved closer, but not wanting to seem rude, he hugged her closely. When he realized that she had stopped crying, he pushed her away slightly. Rei looked up at him and saw a question in his midnight blue gaze. Before she realized what she was doing, she kissed him.

* * *

Serena quickly grabbed a piece of toast and ran out of the house. "I'm late!" she yelled. As soon as she reached the park, she stopped to catch her breath. She decided to walk the rest of the way there. For the first time, Serena looked at her surroundings. 'Wow, it's such a beautiful day.'Sadly, the beautiful day would soon come to be a sad and gloomy day. 

Serena was making her way through the park when she saw a couple kissing. However, she was too far away to see who they were. 'Mmmm, they seem familiar'As she got closer, realization hit her. She did know them. "No, he wouldn't…she wouldn't…they wouldn't do this to me!" she said.

Fear griped her heart as she moved closer towards the couple. Uncertainty clouded her mind. She stopped dead in her tracks as her suspicions were confirmed. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks. She tried to say something, anything, but couldn't. She was left speechless. Minutes seemed to pass before she regained her voice. "How…how could you?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Darien pulled away and turned to looked up to see a teary eyed Serena. "Serena, I…" he said. He let go of Rei immediately and headed to where Serena was standing.

She stepped back and said, "No, stay away from me."

"Serena-" he started, but Serena interrupted him.

"How could you Darien! I thought you liked me!"

"I do." he stated simply.

"Well, you have a weird way of showing it! If your way of showing me that you like me is by kissing one of my friends, than maybe I should do the same thing." she cried, getting more upset with each word she spoke.

"No, you don't understand." Darien said once more in his defense.

Rei had been quiet, but decide that she should explain to Serena what had happened. After all, it was her fault. "Serena, he didn't-" she began, but didn't finish because Serena cut her off.

"And you Rei." Serena said and turned cold eyes to Rei."I can't believe you would do this to me. I thought you were my friend."

"I am."

"I thought you guys cared about me!" Serena screamed.

"We do."Darien and Rei said at the same time.

"If this is what you two do to people you care about, I don't want to know what you do to those you don't!" she yelled. And with that, she quickly turned around and ran away.

"Serena, WAIT!" Darien yelled. Knowing she wasn't going to stop, he ran after her. It took him awhile to catch up, but when he finally did, he caught hold of her arm. "Serena…please….wait." he panted, trying to catch his breath. He never knew that she could run so fast. "Let me explain."

"Let go." she said as she tried to pull away.

"No, not until you let me explain." Darien tightened his grip on her arm, not wanting to leave things the way they were.

"You don't get it do you. I just want you to leave…me…ALONE!" she pulled her arm free from his grasp and ran to her house.

When she got home, she quickly walked in and ran to her room. She ignored her mother's question and ran up the stairs. When she reached her room, she walked in and made sure that she locked the door, then went to her bed and lay down. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it closely. She let all the emotions she felt when she saw Darien and Rei kissing out and cried silently to herself.

* * *

There you have it, my first chapter. Comments, questions, flames, and constructive criticism welcome. Oh, and don't forget to review! 

Girl of Darkness


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry I took so long. Just that I have been real busy with school. I will try to update sooner next time. Well, on with the chapter.

Oh wait, before I forget.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

I forgot to put it on the last chapter. Okay, now on with the story.

* * *

Chapter 2

"Serena. Serena!" cried Luna, "Where _are_ you?"

"In my room Luna!" replied Serena as she desperately tried to wipe the tears away.

"There was a youma attack,"Luna began, "you need to hurry." However, Serena wasn't fast enough in wiping her tears because at that moment Luna turned her way.

"Are you okay Serena?" Luna asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm fine." Serena snuffled, a tell-tale sign that she wasn't fine"Why do you ask?"

"Well, there are tear stains on your cheeks."

"Oh that, well you see…umm...I had something in my eye...and I…um and I rubbed my eyes so hard, my eyes watered."

"Oh, okay…Anyways, hurry up and transform. Quickly!"

"Luna, do I _have_ to?" I don't feel like fighting today." complained Serena.

"Of course you have to Serena. You are Sailor Moon, the leader of this group. You need to help your friends fight off the youmas and find the princess." Luna stated.

"Of course." she said, "How can I forget me _friends_." she added barely above a whisper.

* * *

Sailor Moon ran across the roof tops trying to reach her destination. 

"How much farther Luna?"

However, Luna did not have to respond because as soon as she asked the question she heard the battle cries.

Sailor Moon stopped and looked at the battle down below. She spotted two figures huddling together in the far corner of the alley. The two figures she saw were the last people she wanted to see at that moment.

She could feel the rush of emotions quickly taking over her. Pain, hurt, betrayal, anger, and sadness quickly replaced any thought or feeling she had, at the sight of these two figures.

She jumped down and quickly analyzed the situation.

"It's about time you got here Sailor Moon!" yelled none other then Sailor Mars.

Sailor Moon turned toward the direction the voice came from, only to land on Sailor Mars.

'The nerve of her. I can't believe she said that after what she did to me!'

Sailor Moon just gave her the coldest glare, which would have sent people running back to their homes in fear, and walked towards the youma.

Mars just stared at her. She didn't know how to react. Never had Serena given her a glare that cold before, she usually just yelled at her.

While Mars was trying to figure out why she had gotten that glare, Sailor Moon had just reached the youma and had stopped right in front of it.

Everyone went silent, including the youma. They just stared at Sailor Moon waiting for her to attack, yet, the attack never came.

The youma took this as an advantage and attacked Sailor Moon. She easily dodged each kick or punch that was thrown her way. However, she failed to dodge a lighting bolt that was thrown her way by the youma. It made a slash on her cheek. She could feel the warm blood running down her cheek. She reached up and touched her cheek then looked at her hand and saw her own blood.

Everyone else, not including the youma, just gasped. They had expected her to react by now, but she just stood there looking at her hand. What was she doing?

Sailor Moon could feel all eyes on her, but she didn't care. She continued to look at her hand. She felt like the blood on her hand wasn't from her cheek, but was from her heart. All the emotions she had felt earlier came rushing back. She could see Darien and Rei kissing at the park. She couldn't take it anymore, everything she had felt when she saw them kissing were begging to come out. She needed to vent of these emotions on someone. She looked up and her eyes landed on the youma.

"You shouldn't have done that. I'm in no mood to do this right now!"

Before she knew what was happening, she began fighting the youma. She kicked and punched until her body ached from it. She knew the youma was weak and she could use her tiara, but she didn't care. She continued to fight it.

The Sailor Senshi and Tuxedo Mask just stared at Sailor Moon. They were stunned. They had never seen her act like this. Tuxedo Mask recovered first and went up to her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her away from the youma.

Sailor Moon felt herself being lifted and pulled away from the youma. She turned around to face the person who had dared to pull her away. She was looking at the person she least wanted to see.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!" she yelled angrily as she tried to pull away.

"Look, the youma is weak now. It can't attack us anymore. You can use your tiara to kill it." he said.

"_Don't_ tell _me_ what to do. I can handle this without your help. Just leave me alone and don't bother me, got it!" she said coldly and pulled away.

She walked up to the youma and punched him a few times. She was about to use her tiara when he had pulled her away. Now that he had told her to use it, she refused to do it. So she decided to punch the youma a few more times, that way she could show him that she wasn't going to listen to him and she could tick him off. Once satisfied that she had punched the youma enough times, she took of her tiara and yelled, "MOON TIARA MAGIC!" and threw it at the youma.

As the youma disappeared, Sailor Moon collapsed on the floor. She was tired form fighting the youma. She had used most of her energy on the youma and what she had left was used up when she used her tiara. She felt tired and weak. She tried to stand up, but fell once again.

"Sailor Moon are you alright?" asked Mars as she tried to put her arms around her for support.

The rest ran to their fallen leader.

"I'm fine." She said as she struggled to keep from falling to the ground. Mars tried to help her out, but was pushed away by Sailor Moon. Shocked by her actions, Mars didn't have time to react and fell to the ground.

Mars just gave her a look of pure shock, while Sailor Moon glared at her.

"Why did you push her away Sailor Moon? She was just trying to help you out." said Venus while helping Mars to her feet.

"Well, no one _asked_ for _her_ help." Sailor Moon replied with venom in her voice.

It took everything she had to stand up and not fall to the ground. In the end, she managed and walked away. Leaving a completely shocked and concerned group of friends behind.

* * *

Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review! Oh, and don't forget to give me some ideas for the title of this story! Please and thank you's. 'Till next time! 

-Girl of Darkness


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, first of all I would like to apoligize for taking so long in updating. Just that wuith school and the homework...sighs just a lot of work. Anyway, I will try to update sooner.

Next order of buisness is i would like to give thanks to all my reviewers. But a special shut out to Icess who is helping me with the chapters. She makes sure all my grammar and spelling is correct and helps me with a couple of things in the story. Wheter it's for changin an event or making a certain thing more dramatic. So thanx a lot Icess! Make sure to check out her stories. There awsome!

Next order of buisness, I have found the new title for this story. I would like to thank Animeangel404 for helping me come up with a title. So, from now on this story is now called: **The Heartache of Infidelity.**

And last but not least,

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 3

Lita, Mina, Rei, Ami, Darien, and Luna decided to go to the temple and discuss the matter at hand. All of them were out on the steps with concerned, and worried looks on their faces.

"Luna, do you know what's wrong with Serena?" asked Lita.

"I honestly have no idea. When Ami called saying there was an attack I quickly began to look for Serena. By the time I found her, I had already wasted a lot of time. However, when I found her I could have sworn she was crying. I can't be certain though. I asked her if she was alright and she just said that she had something in her eye. It seemed a bit odd, but I didn't push the matter any farther, besides at the time it seemed unimportant. You know how Serena can be sometimes."

Lita nodded her head in understanding.

"Well now we know she isn't okay. Which brings us to the next question, 'why?'" said Ami.

Everyone nodded their head in agreement, that is everyone except Darien and Rei. They just sat there quietly, averting everyone's eyes. They were afraid that they would be able to see the guilt shining bright in their eyes.

* * *

Serena was walking down the street wondering where everyone was. She had looked every place they usually hung out together and she had found no one. She didn't even know where Luna was. Then a thought hit her. 

"I know," she said, "they must be at the temple."

Even though she didn't want to see Rei just yet, she did want to hang out with her friends. She wasn't going to let Rei ruin that. She could just ignore her and talk to the rest of her friends. As she kept thinking of ways to ignore Rei, she was getting closer to the temple and so were the voices. As soon as she turned the corner to the temple, she saw all of her friends sitting on the steps. She could even see Darien and Luna there. No one had noticed her because they all had their backs to her. She was about to speak up, when she heard Mina speak.

"Whatever it is she has to deal with it soon and get over it. She can't let it control her. I know it seems harsh, but you saw how she behaved yesterday night, both with the youma and Rei."

"Yeah. I kind of feel bad for the thing. It sure picked a bad day to terrorize the city." Lita said.

"I can't believe it." Serena said out loud.

Everyone turned around and saw a shocked Serena.

'Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud.'

"How long have you been there?" asked Luna.

"Long enough to know you guys are having a meeting, a meeting that I wasn't informed about. But then again, why would you inform me about it when the topic of this meeting seems to be me." She said coldly.

"That's not true." Mina said, quickly going into defense mode.

"No it isn't about me?" asked Serena.

"Well…yes, but…"

"What she means is that we were only concerned about your behavior." Said Lita.

Everyone could see that Serena was struggling with her emotions. They could see a mixture of anger, hurt, and betrayal.

She didn't know what to do. She was torn between choosing to believe them or not. She didn't know if she could trust them. Not after what had happened with Rei and Darien. That wound was still fresh in her heart. And now, her so called friends were having a meeting behind her back. There were so many emotions swirling in her head at once. She couldn't seem to decide which to pick. Finally anger won. It seemed anger was the easiest of all the other emotions. She grasped that emotion as if her life depended on it.

"Yeah right. Don't worry though. You shouldn't feel guilty and make up excuses. It seems I'm a popular choice to pick on these days."

"We really mean it Serena." Mina said.

"Whatever."

"We do." She insisted.

"What do you mean by that Serena?" asked Ami, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Mean by what?"

"About being a popular choice to pick on?"

"I mean, you guys weren't the first to hurt and betray me."

They seemed taken a back. Serena continued to surprise them. They didn't like the way this was turning out, but decided not to say a word.

Serena didn't seem to notice their shocked expressions. She just continued talking.

"If you really cared you would have gone straight to the source. Me. You should have told me about this meeting and your concerns for me. I would have explained. Instead you decided to have this meeting behind my back. You figured I was too dumb to find out about it didn't you?"

"Serena, that's not true. We told you why we had this meeting already." Mina said, trying desperately to calm her friend down.

"That's right, you were 'concerned'" Serena said sarcastically.

"Explain what Serena?" said Luna, trying to get some information out of the girl.

"You know, I never thought anyone could hurt me like they did." She said, completely ignoring Luna's question.

"They?" asked Ami.

Darien and Rei were quiet this whole time. Averting their gazes and staying out of the conversation. Now, both were having a hard time keeping their breathing and heart beat at a normal pace.

"Oh, they haven't said anything yet. Here I thought that that was the reason you were having this 'meeting,' to congratulate them for hurting me."

"Look, we didn't know this meeting was going to upset you so much. And you are right, we should have told you. We made a mistake and we're sorry for that." Mina said, trying to fix the damage that had been done.

"Anyway," said Serena, completely ignoring Mina, "all this time that you guys were trying to 'figure out' what was wrong with me. The source of my problem just sat there quietly trying to seem innocent. Isn't that right Darien and Rei?"

All eyes went from Serena to Darien and Rei.

"Oh come on you two. Don't be shy. I won't get mad if you tell them." She said in a mocking tone.

Everyone waited for either one to speak up.

"I don't have all day you know. Are you going to talk or not?" Serena said impatiently, her "sweet tone" gone.

A few minutes passed by when Serena spoke again.

"Wait, I see what the problem is. It's because I'm here isn't?"

Silence. Everyone's eyes seemed to move from Darien and Rei to Serena.

"Of course it is. You guys can't discuss certain things when I'm around. No, no, no, you guys discuss all your problems behind my back. That's right. I almost forgot about your 'meeting,' but don't worry, I'll make it simple for all of you. You won't have to worry about me anymore."

All eyes were now focused on Serena.

"Looks like you guys can handle things on your own; after all I'm always klutzing around. Funny, all this time I actually believed you were my friends, but I was just making a fool of myself. If it wasn't for the Sailor Senshi, I doubt we would have met. Let alone become friends. From now on, all of you don't exist anymore. You'll just be a couple of strangers to me." Serena said as tears fell from her eyes.

She turned around and began to walk away, but suddenly stopped. She turned around and looked directly at Luna. The tears had disappeared and were replaced by cold, glaring eyes.

"You know what, I thought what Rei and Darien did to me was the worst thing possible. Now I see how wrong I was. I could have expected this from everybody else, but never from you Luna. Of everyone here, I trusted you the most. I could always count on you, whether it was something from school or Sailor Moon business that was bothering me, I could always count on you to help me through it. Turns out you are just a good liar like everyone else here." She took one last look at them and walked away for good.

* * *

There you have it folks. Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! Before I forget, I would like to apologize for taking so long with this chapter. And also, I would just like to say that from now on the chapters might take a little longer, but just bare with me. 'Till next time! 

Girl of Darkness


	4. Chapter 4

Here it is. The next chapter. Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 4

As soon as Serena was sure she couldn't be seen by her so-called friends, she began to run as fast as she could. She could feel the tears that were threatening to fall. She had to hold them back just for a little while longer.

'No I can't cry yet, not now. Because if I do, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop.'

She willed herself to run faster and soon, her house came into view. She took out her key and opened the door. After making sure that the door was locked, she ran up the stairs and into her room. She then locked her door and lay down on her bed. Now that she was in the safety of her room, she let the tears fall. Harder and harder they fell, and soon she was crying uncontrollably. The sobs raked through her entire body and she didn't know when they would stop. She felt numb and empty, as if she had a vortex inside her and it was draining the very life out of her. She let the pain fill her body and soul and let go of her hold to the world around her.

* * *

"This didn't just happen…right? It was just some weird dream…that we all had simultaneously." Said Mina. 

"Yeah, it was all just a weird dream. Serena isn't really mad at us and she never said all those things she said." Said Lita, having trouble believing what she had just witnessed.

"I don't think you two really believe this was a dream. You just don't want to believe thatit actually really happened." Ami commented.

"No, this just _can't_ be happening. It wasn't real," said Mina, and then softly added, "It couldn't have been."

"Well, it did happen." Said Luna, she then turn to face Rei and Darien, "You two better start talking. NOW!"

At first neither wanted to say anything, but when they saw the deathly glare Luna was giving them, they began to retell the events of the fateful day that everything changed.

When they finished there wasa long, uncomfortable silence. After what seemed like hours, Lita broke the silence. "I can't believe you two," she began softly, however, her voice began to rise, "How could you be so STUPID! I thought you guys were the most logical people in the world, that is, aside form Ami of course. I mean, of ALL the stupid things you could have done, you chose to kiss to each other AND, not to mention, you kissed each other when Serena was coming to the park. You should at least waited until she was gone or kissed somewhere were she wouldn't be able to see. That way she wouldn't have found out and everything would be fine and _we_ wouldn't be in this mess. Only you two would feel guilty, or maybe not, but at least Serena would be talking to us and not-"

"Alright, we get it." Said Rei, cutting Lita off.

"No Rei, I don't think you do. You guys really hurt her, and we didn't do so good either Lita. But still, we didn't do as bad as you guys and in time she might forgive us. However, what you two did…well, that's just unforgivable." Said Mina.

Both Darien and Rei were silent as the truth in Mina's word's sunk in.

"So, you're saying she will never forgive us?" asked Darien, afraid of what her response might be.

"Oh no, she _might_ forgive you but will take a lot of work for that to happen." She retorted.

"Not to mention, you would have to earn her trust all over again." Ami added.

(A/N Just so you guys know everyone is on spring break. In a week they'll be back to school)

* * *

Several Days Later

It had been almost 3 days and neither the girls nor Darien had seen or heard from Serena. They doubted she was going to call them, but they should have at least seen her around.

All five of them were at the arcade and each one glanced to the door whenever they heard the bell jingle, hoping to catch Serena entering the arcade. When they came in, they asked Andrew if he had seen Serena. When he replied no, they began to worry more than before.

They sat in silence, each immersed in each other's thoughts. Soon Mina broke the silence. "You know, we could call her…just to make sure she's okay."

"Mina's right, we should call Serena." Lita said.

"I don't know. No matter how worried I am, it doesn't seem like a wise idea. It might anger her even more because we did not respect her wishes." Said Ami.

"That may be, but what Ami is saying makes sense." Added Luna.

"Well then, what do we do?" asked Rei.

After a long silence, Luna said, "We call her."

* * *

Serena could hear the phone ringing and knew who it must be. She thought they would have given up by now, but she was totally wrong. The first three times they called, her mom had answered and she told her to tell them that she was sick. That was over an hour ago and they _still_ didn't get the hint. Her mom had gone to the grocery store, so she just let the phone ring. 

'Why can't they just leave me alone and let me dwell in my misery!'

* * *

Mina sighed and said, "It's no use. She won't answer the phone." 

"Well, try again." Said Lita. Mina was about to redial when Luna said, "No. That is enough. If she didn't pick up the last 20 times or so, she won't pick up at all."

And so, Mina put away her phone and once again each was lost in each other's thoughts.

* * *

Two Days Later

"Serena, honey, please open the door." Ilene pleaded softly as she knocked on her daughters door.

There was a rustling of things and soon the door opened to reveal a not so good looking Serena. She had red, puffy, swollen eyes from crying most of the time. Her hair was flying all over the place and small circles could be seen under her eyes from crying the night away. The room was absolutely dark with all lights off and the curtains drawn over the windows.

Ilene took one good look ather and said, "Honey, I don't know what happened to make you this depressed, but it has got to stop. You haven't gotten out of this room for five days. I don't even know if you have eaten these passed few days. Please honey, you have to get some fresh air."

Serena just looked at her mom. She couldn't believe what her mom was asking her to do. There was no way she was going outside, at least not until school started. She gave one last look at her mother, turned around, and got back into bed.

In a way, she was ashamed of herself. She couldn't believe that she had been crying all this time. She didn't want to imagine what she would do if she were to run into one of her friends.

"Honey," Ilene said as she walked into the room and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I don't want to see you like this anymore. It breaks my heart to see you like this. Please get up and get some fresh air. It might even help you clear your head for awhile."

Had it been someone else, Serena would have refused. However, she couldn't ignore her mother and the pain and concern in her voice. So, with great difficulty, she got up and headed to the bathroom. She took a shower, brushed her teeth, comber her hair, got dressed, and went downstairs. She had on a pair ofjeans and a black shirt that said 'Go Away!' in red, bold letters. She wasn't sure why or how she had gotten it, but it seemed to suit her just fine today.

As she neared the kitchen, she could see her mom making a huge breakfast. There was toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausages.

"Good morning sweetie. Grab a plate and help yourself."

"Thanks mom, but I'm really not that hungry. I'll just get some toast."Serena replied in a hoarse voice. 'I've been crying for too long and haven't said a word, yet I can't seem to stop crying.' She grabbed a piece of toast andheaded for the door.

"Bye mom."

Closing the door, she just stood there. She didn't know where she was going to go. Usually, she would go to the arcade or the shrine to hang out with her friends. However, today she didn't want to see any of them. Everywhere she went, something reminded her of her friends. Yet, she couldn't just stand there; her mom was expecting her to go somewhere. In the end she decided to go to the arcade, at least there she could talk to Andrew. With that in mind, she slowly made her way to the arcade.

* * *

Andrew was cleaning the counter when he heard someone come in. He looked up to find Serena come in. Only she wasn't her normal cheery and happy self. She walked slowly as if she was carrying a big load. She was quiet and kept her head down. However, when she looked up, Andrew was certain that her eyes had changed the most. They seemed to be dull. The certain glow that they usually had was gone. He smiled and waved at her and when she smiled and waved back, only, her smile didn't reach her eyes the way they did before. They remained dull and lifeless. 

She reached the counter and sat down.

"Hey Serena, the usual." Said Andrew.

"No thank you Andrew. I'll just take a glass of water please." She replied quietly.

"You sure?" asked Andrew, a bit surprised.

"Yep."

"Okay, one glass of water coming up."

As Andrew turned to get Serena's glass of water, the door opened and in came Mina and Rei. Both were giggling and talking, but fell silent as their eyes landed on Serena. It had been five days since they had last seen her. Seeing her now made them nervous, so slowly they made their way towards her.

"Here you go Serena, your glass of water." Said Andrew.

"Thanks."

At this moment, Rei and Mina reached the counter.

"Hey Andrew." Both Mina and Rei said.

"Hello Girls." He replied.

"Hi Serena. How have you been? We were trying to call you a few days ago, but your mom said you were sick." Said Mina.

Serena just looked at her glass and ignored Mina and Rei. After a moments silence, Mina tried again. "So, how are you feeling?"

Serena kept her silence, as Mina, Rei, and Andrew waited for her response.

Finally Serena spoke up, "You know what Andrew, all of a sudden I'm not feeling so well. Maybe I'm still a bit sick. Besides, the perfume your two customers are wearing is making me nauseous, or perhaps it's just them. I think I'll just go home. Thanks for the water; I promise I'll pay you the next time I come over. See ya later." And with that she left the arcade.

All three of them just stared at the door. Andrew was surprised at what Serena had just said. He was also surprised she wanted to pay for her drink.

"What was that all about?" asked Andrew.

Rei kept quiet as Mina retold the events of what happened between them and Serena.

"Wow." Was all Andrew could say when Mina finished.

"Yeah well, we all feel bad but we don't know what to do to make it up to her." She said.

"From the looks of it, you should stay away." He said.

* * *

Serena had no idea were she was going. She just kept her head down and let her legs do the walking. Once again the tears were threatening to fall, but this time she refused to let them fall. She was so busy on trying to keep the tears from falling that she didn't notice where she was going and bumped into someone. 

"Sorry, my bad. I wasn't looking were I was going." She said.

"No, it was my fault." A deep voice said.

At the sound of that voice, Serena abruptly looked up. Her gaze fell on midnight blue eyes that showed some kind of emotion that she didn't get a chance to see. For as soon as she looked at those ever-so familiar midnight blue eyes, her gaze shifted to the rest of his face, afraid she would lose herself in his gaze.

He seemed tired. His hair was unkempt, his clothes were wrinkled and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Overall, he looked horrible. Just as she felt.

"Darien." She said barely above a whisper.

She looked so different. She walked with her head down and her voice was so soft and low you had to strain yourself to hear what she was saying. But what stood out the most to Darien were her eyes. They had lost their certain glow and now were dull and lifeless. It pained him to see her like this.

"Serena, please let me explain. I need you to give me a chance to tell you what happened."

"No. No please just leave me alone." She pleaded. She had to get away. Confronting Mina and Rei hadn't been easy, but confronting Darien…she didn't think she had the strength to do it. She didn't think she could keep the tears from falling this time, and if she began to cry, she didn't know when she'll stop.

As she tried to move away from Darien, he stepped in front of her and said, "I won't let you go until you listen to me."

Panic seared through Serena's body. There was no way she would be able to get away. He was blocking her only means of escape and now she was stuck.

"I don't want to listen. I can't take anymore. Not now, not here, not yet." She said softly.

"Please."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and she quickly recoiled from his touch.

"Don't touch me. I just want you and everyone else to leave me alone. _Please_."

She hated the way her voice sounded so desperate and needy. She didn't want Darien to see how weak she was and how much it pained her to see him and her friends again.

"Serena please, I just want to talk."

She had to think fast. Darien had begun to talk, but she wasn't ready to hear his side of the story or anybody else's side for that matter. She had to get away and only one solution came to her mind. As much as it hurt her to do this, there wasn't anything else she could do. She gathered all her strength and kicked Darien's shin. She heard him groan in pain and saw him grab hold of his leg. Pushing him away, he staggered back and she seized her chance. Serena ran as fast as she could and only stopping to say, "Please, just leave me alone."

* * *

Serena stopped running when she was positive she had put enough distance between her and Darien. For the first time since shestarted running, she took a look at her surroundings. Unconsciously, she had made her way to the park. 

A fresh new set of tears formed in Serena's eyes. The park had been hers and Darien's favorite place to go when they were together. She made her way to a bench and sat down. She pulled her legs toward her and rested her head on her knees. Slowly and quietly she let the tears she had held back fall. This whole place was filled with wonderful memories of her and Darien together. When she looked up again, her eyes landed on the fountain were she had seen Darien and Rei kiss. This time the tears fell harder and she began to cry uncontrollably as the pain of that day hit her full force.

Soon the sun was covered by dark clouds. It began to rain softly at first, but soon the rain fell harder and harder. It was as if the skies had sensed her sudden mood change and began to cry with her.

Serena was soaked, but she didn't care. This weather suited her mood just fine and she didn't want to leave. She felt like the skies were crying with her and they could understand her pain.

* * *

Sighing, Serena stood up and made her way home. She had been out long enough and didn't want to worry her mother any longer. As she neared her house she quickened her pace. She opened the door and let herself in. 

"Oh my god honey, I was so worried about you. I called all your friends to ask if they had seen you and they all said no. I even called Darien and when he said no too, I began to panic," her mother said, "But at least you are alright now."

Feeling somewhat calmer now, Ilene noticed the state Serena was in. "Look at you, you're all wet. Why didn't you say something instead of letting me ramble on? Come now, go upstairs and change into some warm clothes."

"Oh mom, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, really didn't mean to worry you so much." Softly she began to cry.

Failing to realize that her daughter was wet; Ilene hugged her and softly said, "There, there sweetie, I know you didn't mean it. You just lost track of time, that's all. It happens to all of us."

"I swear I tried my best, I really did. I just couldn't do it. I'm not strong enough. I thought I was, but I am not." With that said, she began to cry harder.

Knowing Serena was no longer talking about being late, Ilene tried her best to console her even though she had no idea what had Serena so upset.

After awhile Serena stopped crying and said, "Thanks mom, you're the only friend I have in this world."

She turned around and headed towards her room, leaving her mother with a concerned look on her face.

* * *

Sorry for taking so long to update, but school has been horrible. Anyway, I need some help with the story. What do guys think that Serena should do abouther friends and Darien. 

Should she:

A) Forgive them

B) Forgive only Mina, Lita, Ami, and Luna and never speak to Darien and Rei

C) Forgive her friends and forget about Darien

D) Forget about all of them and move on

E) None of the above because you ahve something better

Tell me what you think should happen.

'Till next time!

Girl of Darkness


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry the update took so long. However, here is the next chapter so hope you enjoy it.

Before I forget, I'm going to ask you guys if you can please take a similar poll like in the previous chapter.

Here are the results so far:

A) 5 votes  
B) 5 votes  
C) 3 votes  
D)11 votes  
E) 17 votes

Obviously choice E is winning, and everyone has given me great ideas. However, choice D is close so I would like to "untie" them that way i have a clearer view on how to continue my story.

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed like:  
**supersaiyanx, animeangel404, questionmarkX4'n'Mr.Mental, PantherDemon89, christel**(anon.)**, Megan Consoer, SlayerBunny, moonchild08, Nikitamjo, coffeehigh**(anon.)**, Sweet Starlight 05, Col. Natalie Evans, princess-serena-of-the-mo, crystalstarlight**(anon.)**,bumblebee115, Heartlove, raye85, engineer & Rosie**(both anon.)and so much more! Thanks a bunch to all of you and all the anonymous reviewers too!

Disclaimer: I **do not** own Sailor Moon (sadly )

* * *

Chapter 5

Serena woke to the sound of her alarm clock. She didn't want to go to school yet. She didn't want to face her friends. She could try to avoid them, but it would be pointless. She had at least one of her friends in each class. She sighed and got out of bed. She would just have to hope that she would be left alone. She took a quick shower, dressed, and went downstairs.

"Serena, you're up early." said a surprised Ilene.

Serena just looked at her mom and quietly sat down at the kitchen table.

"Right, well um…I hope you're hungry today. Would you like some French toast? Pancakes? Eggs?" asked her mom

"I'll just have some toast and a glass of orange juice pleas." She said quietly.

"Okay."

Ilene placed the glass with orange juice and the French toast in front of Serena and sat down next to her.

"Aren't you going to eat to mom?"

"I'm not that hungry. Besides I can eat later."

So Serena ate her breakfast quietly. All the while thinking about school and what she would do if she ran into one of her friends. Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized her mom was talking to her.

"Sweetie, is something wrong?" Ilene asked.

"What do you mean mom? I'm perfectly fine."

"Well, um…you seem…you seem a bit 'distracted' lately."

"Oh. Well, I mean vacations are over and I really don't want to go to school yet." She said, hoping that would convince her mom she was "okay" and end her questions.

However she was wrong. A couple of seconds later her mom said, "Are you sure that's it honey? I mean, it looks like it's something else that's bothering you."

"No mom, really. I'm fine" she said and gave her mom what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"Okay…If you say so honey."

"Right…well, I have to go, don't want to be late to class. Bye mom."

She quickly grabbed her things and with a final goodbye, walked out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile

"One cup of black coffee coming up." Said Andrew

"Thanks." Said Darien as Andrew handed him his cup of coffee.

He took several sips and then he slowly asked, "So Andrew…"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Serena lately?"

"Maybe. Why?"

At that moment Serena walked in. As she made her way to the counter she stooped dead in her tracks as she realized who the person talking to Andrew was.

'Oh no, it's Darien. I can't talk to him yet! Okay, calm down Serena. They haven't seen you yet. Take a deep breath and slowly turn around and leave.'

"Serena? Serena is that you?"

'Oh no, too late.'

"Hey Andrew" she said with a not so convincing cheery voice.

By now Darien was looking at Serena hoping to get a chance to talk to her.

"What are you doing here?" Said a surprised Andrew.

"Um…well I just came to pay you for the water I ordered last time," she said as she took out the money, "and to say hello."

"Oh. Thank you, but you don't need to pay for the water Serena, here." Andrew said as he tried to give the money back.

"Don't be silly, of course I need to pay for it." She said as she pushed his hand away from hers.

Fully aware that Darien was looking at her and trying to get her attention she decided now was the best time to leave.

"Well, I've said hello and I've paid you so…bye"

Having said that, she turned around and walked away.

"Thanks for the coffee Andrew." Darien said.

He paid for the coffee and want after Serena.

"This cannot end well" Andrew said to himself.

* * *

"Serena wait up." called Darien. 

'Not again. Okay, just keep walking, pretend you can't hear him and don't stop.'

However, much to her surprise, she stopped.

'What are you doing! Don't stop! Keep walking!'

"Can we talk?" Darien asked once he had cached up with her.

'Talk? You want to talk? Okay, lets talk. Lets talk about how much you hurt me or how stupid I was to actually believe everything you told me!'

However, Serena said none of those things. She looked up to Darien's pleading eyes, sighed, and said, "Okay."

'Okay? OKAY! That was the best I could come up with! URGH! Just wait, I'll give him a piece of my mind when he least expects it.'

"Can we go somewhere more…private?"

Serena just nodded and let Darien lead the way.

'That's right, follow Darien like a good little puppy. C'mon, what is wrong with you! Fight back! Say something, anything.'

However, Serena said nothing and quietly followed Darien.

When they finally reached their "destination," Darien began his tale.

* * *

Minutes Later

"So really it wasn't my fault." Finished Darien

"It kinda is." Serena said softly, so softly that Darien didn't hear her.

"And no I'm not saying it justifies what I did but I just wanted you to know that."

"Darien." She said softly.

"I am willing to do whatever it is to make it work. I want to make this work. I'll do whatever it takes to gain your trust again."

"Darien." She said a bit louder.

"Even if it means starting all over from scratch and begin as friends I will do it if I have to."

'Psh, he'll never hear you if you speak that soft. You've got to speak louder than that.'

"Darien!" she yelled.

'Much better.'

"What?"

"Look I don't think…I mean…"

"What is it? I'm telling you how we can-"

"See, there you go telling me what to do without even bothering to ask what I think!"

"What do you mean? Are you saying you don't want to work this out!"

"Yes!"

"Yes?"

"No!"

"No?"

"Yes…I don't know."

"It's either a yes or a no. You can't have it both ways. Yes or no, what's it gonna be?"

"I don't know Darien, okay. I don't know!"

"What's not to know? You either want to fix it or you don't. It's as simple as that." Darien said, getting madder by the minute.

"It's not that simple!"

"Why not!"

"Because it just isn't!" she said as she backed away to leave. She didn't want to deal with this right now.

"That's not an answer. I need an answer." He said, sensing that he was loosing her.

'C'mon Serena. Tell him! Tell him how you feel!'

"Why isn't it simple Serena?"

"Want to know why it isn't simple Darien! Do you really want to know!"

"Yes."

"Because you hurt me, both you and Rei. Two people I really cared about hurt me. I find the person who supposedly loves me kissing someone else!"

"C'mon Serena. That kiss meant nothing! It just sorta happened. I don't care about Rei or any other girl for that matter. I just care about you Serena, only you."

"You just don't get it do you. Rei was my friend, one of my closest friends. And you kissed her! I might have forgiven you had it been some other girl, but she was my friend. And the worst part is I still-"

"You still what?"

"Nothing. Just forget it."

Saying that she began to turn away.

"It meant nothing!" he yelled, desperate to keep her there.

"It meant something to me Darien! It _means_ something to me."

"Why can't you just let it go? It was just a stupid kiss. It meant nothing."

"Well that _stupid kiss_ made me question if I could truly trust you and if you really love me. And honestly, I'm thinking you don't really love me and I can't trust you!" she yelled, angry at how ignorant he was being to her feelings and not realizing how much this hurt her.

"Of course I love you! How _dare_ you question that?"

"Simple, because I found you kissing Rei who, if I remember correctly, had a crush on you. And right now I'm thinking she still does! And maybe you like her too and wish she was your girlfriend!"

"Of course not! I _love_ you!"

"Don't you _dare_ say that! You don't love me. If you did you wouldn't have kissed Rei."

"What will it take for you to forgive me!"

"I don't know. I don't even know if I can forgive you!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I don't know…I just need to think things through."

"Well think. You can take as long as you want."

"I can't think things through with you right in front of me!"

"Why not!"

"Because I just can't. Besides, I need to go to school. I have to go now."

"Wait, you will forgive me right? Maybe not anytime soon, but you will forgive me?" He said, fearing for the first time that perhaps Serena wouldn't just give in and forgive him.

"I don't know Darien. I just don't know."

She began to walk away, when Darien yelled, "Serena! Serena answer me!"

Serena just gave him a sad look and continued walking away.

"Serena!"

However Serena didn't look back and soon she was to far away to hear anything else he might have said.

Serena kept walking and didn't look back. She looked at her watch and even though she was still early, she decided to hurry up.

Once in school, Serena quickly went to her first period class. As soon as she got there, Serena slowly opened the door and sneaked in. She knew she wasn't late but she didn't want to risk being seen by one of her friends.

She sat quietly at the back of the class and began taking out her notebook and pen. A few minutes later the bell rang and everyone began to quiet down. Everyone waited as the teacher took attendance.

"Serena Tsukino" the teacher said.

"Present" Serena said softly.

The teacher looked up from the attendance and looked at Serena.

"My, my, my Serena, you're here early. I must say, I am surprised, but happy that you are here on time."

At this Serena began to blush.

"I am proud of you, a perfect way to begin the new term."

As she continued taking the attendance, Serena sank into her chair, blushing deeply.

* * *

Lunch

It was lunchtime already and so far Serena had made it through her classes without running into her friends. She had a small smile on her face as she was getting her lunch. She was actually enjoying the "first" day of school and the fact she hadn't run into her friends made it even better. As she was walking towards a table she saw Mina, Ami, Lita, and Rei all sitting together laughing. The small smile she had soon disappeared and she felt a huge wave of sadness fill her.

She was surprised at her reaction. She didn't expect to fell like this. After all, they were only doing what she told them to do. However, seeing them there, talking and laughing, it hurt. She didn't think she mean that little to them that they could forget her so easily…but apparently she was wrong. It seemed she was wrong about many things lately. Tears forming in her eyes, Serena threw away her food and walked away.

At that very moment Mina turned around and saw Serena and the small tear that escaped her eye.

"You guys look, there's Serena." she said

"She looks so lonely." Ami said

"Not to mention sad." said Mina

"How do you know?" asked Lita

"Do you think we should go talk to her?" asked Mina

"No way. I think we should just listen to her and just leave her alone. She will hopefully, forgive us soon."

"Lita's probably right. Its better if we just let her be." said Ami

"I guess." said a not so convinced Mina.

* * *

At the Girls Bathroom

Serena was inside a stall crying.

"I can't believe I'm crying over this. It's so stupid! I mean did I really expect them to talk to me."

Tears were running down her cheeks.

"I'm so pathetic. First I say I don't want them to talk to me and next I'm crying over the fact that they are not talking to me."

She continues crying, but slowly comes to a stop.

"Not anymore. This crying over them stops now. From now on I will stand by my word and ignore them as they so easily ignore me."

With her mind set on that, Serena opened the stall, fixed herself as much as she could, and headed to class.

* * *

After School

Serena made her way through the crowd of teenagers. Slowly she managed to find her way and headed home.

She was wiped. She closed the door to her room and laid down. The whole crying incident at the bathroom had drained her emotionally and physically. However she had made up her mind and she wasn't going to cry over them anymore.

* * *

A Week Later

True to her word Serena hadn't cried over her friends or Darien again. However as time passed she got quieter and quieter until she barely said a thing. She was more withdrawn and only talked when she had to. Keeping all her feelings bottled up inside her wasn't helping her at all, but she refused to cry.

Her mother was beginning to worry. Whenever Serena went to school she'd look so sad and when she returned she looked even sadder. As soon as she returns she goes into her room and doesn't come out until dinner time.

As Ilene was thinking about her daughter's strange behavior, Serena walked in.

"Serena? Is that you?" asked Ilene

"Yes." she replied softly.

"Can you come in here please?"

Serena left her backpack next to the stairs and went to the kitchen were her mom was.

"Yes mom."

"Sit down sweetie."

Serena did as she was told and stared at her mom intently.

"Honey, are you sure you are okay? I mean, you've been so quiet and withdrawn these passed few days. Did something happen between your friends? Or maybe-"

"No!" Serena said quickly

"Ummm…okay. Maybe you're having trouble at school?"

Seeing her mother's surprised expression, Serena said, "I'm sorry for yelling. What I meant to say was that, no nothing happen between my friends. Everything is fine."

She didn't like lying to her mom, but for some reason she didn't want her mom to know what was going on between her and her friends.

"It's okay honey. I just want to know what's bothering you. Whatever it is you can tell me."

"I know I can, but there is nothing to tell. Everything is fine."

Serena shifted her attention to the kitchen table. She couldn't bear lying to her mother. She had to leave quickly. She could feel her control slipping. If she didn't get out soon, she was sure she would crack.

"Serena look at me. Are you sure you're alright?"

Serena looked at her mother right in the eye and said, "Mom everything is fine. Really. However, I really have to go. I have tons of homework and the sooner I start it the faster I'll finish."

So she got up, picked up her backpack, and headed towards her room.

"If everything is fine then why do I get the feeling that everything is not fine and that you are hiding something from me."

* * *

Okay well, there you have it. Hope you guys liked it. 

So most you guys want Serena to forgive her friends, which I agree with because really they were just caught in between this "battle" between Serena with Darien and Rei. However, you guys can't seem to decide about Rei and Darien. So, if you can please vote once again on what Serena should do I would really appreciate it. Especially since I want this story to end with something you, my readers, would like. Thank you!

So, what should Serena do:

A) Forgive them both

B) Forgive only Rei

C) Forgive only Darien

D) forgive neither of them

E) None of the above because you have something better

Girl of Darkness


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry I took sooo long in updating!

I want to thank all my readers and thank you guys for all the reviews! Not to mention for waiting the long overdue update :)

Anyways, I won't take more of your time, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon!

* * *

Chapter 6

Days went by, which soon became weeks, and Serena was not getting better. She hardly ate and spent most of her time in her room. By now, her mom was really worried. What could possibly be going on that would upset her daughter this much? If she couldn't get to the bottom of this, then she would definitely help her to try and forget it. The problem was how to do it? The answer came almost instantly. She had some calls to make, and the sooner she started the better.

When Serena was coming home from school that day, Ilene called her into the kitchen.

"Sit down honey." Ilene said, pointing to a chair.

Serena took a seat and waited for her mom to continue. There was a moment's pause, but soon Ilene continued, "Listen sweetie, I'm really worried about. You hardly speak, you almost never leave your room, and you are starting to eat less and less."

"Mom I-"

Ilene put her hand to stop Serena from saying what she was about to say, which she was fairly certain, it would be the same "I'm fine" response with a I'm-really-not-fine-but-I'll-tell-you-that-I-am-fine tone.

"No, let me finish. I may not know what is bothering you, but I think I know what to do to make you feel better. I've already talked to your school and they agree with me too. We think you need a break and a place to recover from whatever it is you need to recover from. I think a change of scenery would be nice."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I had been thinking about this for awhile and I believe now would be a good time to go. I've booked a vacation to the Caribbean. It'll be just the two of us, we'll take as long as you think you need in order to come to accept whatever it is you are having trouble with."

Ilene waited for Serena to say something, but seeing how there was no response she asked, "So, what do you think?"

Serena got up from where she was sitting and went to hug her mom.

"I love you so much mom. You know that, right? Thank you."

"I love you too sweetie."

Moment's later Serena drew away from her mom and asked, "So, when do we leave?"

Ilene just chuckled and said, "In a week. Now hurry up and start packing. We have to a lot to do."

"Okay."

So Serena rushed out of the kitchen and went to her room to begin packing.

* * *

Throughout the week Serena was seen coming out stores, picking and dropping things off. (A/N All of this was done after school)

No one knew what she was doing except Andrew, that is. Whenever the girls or Darien went into the arcade they could see them whispering to each other. Whenever they came within hearing distance Andrew and Serena would stop talking, and she would say good-bye to Andrew and leave.

By Thursday neither Darien nor the girls could take it anymore. So Darien decided to talk to Andrew that morning while the girls reached a similar decision that afternoon.

* * *

At the Arcade

Darien walked in and took his regular seat at the counter. He ordered his coffee and slowly drank it as he thought of the best way to approach Andrew.

"So Andrew," he began casually, "how have you been lately?"

"Good, and you?"

"Uh, can't explain."

"Now that's a surprise you usually have something to complain about." Andrew said jokingly.

"Haha, very funny…. So, um did you have a lot of costumers this week?"

"Actually yes."

"Any regulars?"

"Maybe. Why?" he said, now getting suspicious.

Darien sensing this said, "Oh no reason, just wondering."

"Right."

Silence settled between them, when Andrew said, "Okay, what is it?"

Darien was pulled out of his thought about how was he going to get Andrew to tell him what he and Serena were talking about, at the sound of his voice.

"What do you mean?" Darien asked him.

"You want to know something. What is it?"

"I have no idea what you talking about."

"Is it about a certain blonde girl?"

"I wouldn't know. What she does is up to her. It's none of my business."

"Right, none of your business. Then you wouldn't care she is already dating someone else."

"No, wait WHAT?!"

"Oh, I thought you didn't care what she did. That it was none of your business."

"Forget about what I said, who is she dating?"

"Relax. I was only kidding. Now, why don't you tell me what you really want to know? Since we've already established that you do care what she does."

Darien considered his options and finally gave in.

"Oh alright. What are you guys always whispering about? What is she up to?"

Andrew sighed, torn between telling his best friend what was going on and keeping his promise to Serena. What was he going to do? Perhaps there was a way around it? If Darien figured it out by himself, technically, he wouldn't be breaking his promise to Serena about not telling him….

"I don't know Darien. I promised Serena I wasn't going to tell you guys anything."

"C'mon Andrew, you _have _to tell me. How am I going to fix this with Serena if I don't know what is going on?"

"Alright, alright. All I know is that Serena is going on vacation and that you should be at the airport before 11 am and see you might find."

That afternoon a similar conversation took place at the arcade. The girls, just like Darien, were surprise at the news. Why was Serena leaving and when was she coming back? Was she even going to say goodbye?

(A/N Sorry if Darien and Andrew seem too out of character I did my best.)

* * *

Saturday Morning

Serena was doing any last minute packing that she needed. After making sure she has everything she considered letting her friends know she was leaving, but then decided against it. So, she got ready herself. She took a quick shower, changed, did her hair, and started bringing her bags downstairs. Her mom was already in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Ready?" Ilene asked.

"Pretty sure." Serena responded with a small smile.

"Ok, good. Now, we'll just have some breakfast and get going alright."

"Sure."

She sat down, while her mom served herself and Serena some breakfast. When they finished, Serena washed the dishes and her mom started taking the suitcases into the car. After she finished washing the dishes, Serena helped her mom pack the rest of the suitcases.

"Are you sure we have everything?" Ilene asked her daughter.

"Yep."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes."

"Sure?"

"Mom, I'm sure."

"Alright, I just want to be sure we don't forget anything."

"I know. Now, let's go."

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

At the Airport

"Mom, do you even know where we are supposed to go?" asked Serena.

"Of course, we simply continue straight, and uh…we'll end up…in uh…were we are supposed to be…so we continue straight…"

"Right. I'm going to ask which gate we are supposed to be at, okay? I'll be back."

Ilene sat down on a nearby bench and waited for Serena to return. She didn't have to wait long, because as soon as she sat down, Serena had returned.

"Okay so were headed in the wrong direction. We have to go back until we see Section A, then we turn left, continue going straight until we find Gate 17. So, let's get going."

* * *

Gate 17

"We finally made it. Phew! I am so tired. Be a dear sweetie and buy me some water please."

"No problem mom."

Serena headed over to one of the stores they had passed by. She bought two water bottles, Snickers, and some gum. As she was paying she saw Darien.

'What is he doing here?! Andrew is going to pay! I can't believe he told him!'

She saw that he was walking towards her, but she couldn't move. She just stood there.

"Hey." He said.

"….."

"Look, I know you didn't want me to be here and you're probably mad at Andrew for telling me, but all I want to know is why didn't you tell me? Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?"

'Great, I had thought he was going to yell and demand that I tell him what was going on, but not this. I can't deal with this. At least if he had been yelling I could have made it work against him and didn't really have to say anything…'

"Okay, I get it. You don't want to talk to me. I'll leave you alone."

'He looked so sad…'

Darien turned to leave, when he felt Serena grab his arm and then quickly let it go.

"Wait," she sighed, "I'm sorry. It's just that I was surprised to see is, that's all."

"Oh."

"Look Darien, I don't know what you want me to say, I was planning on telling you guys but then I decided against it because I knew if I told you not to come you wouldn't have listened. And I wanted to avoid all this."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I just want you to know that I will miss you guys a lot…. and tell Andrew that he is dead the next time I see him."

Darien chuckled. "Alright, I'll tell him. And I'll miss you too."

Serena gave him a small smile and walked to him and hugged.

"Bye Darien."

With that she walked away.

"Goodbye Serena." He said long after she was gone.

'Okay, relax, don't cry. You can do this. Forget about Darien. Whatever just happened right now, you have to forget it.'

She made her way back to her mom, but suddenly stopped. Her mom was talking to somebody, but who? They looked familiar, but they had their back to her and she couldn't really see their faces. All of a sudden she saw her mom pointing her way, and when the people her mom was talking about turned her way, her blood went cold. They were heading this way and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't run or hide because they had already seen her and her mom was looking at her.

'This cannot be happening to me. First Darien and now them. I'm going to kill Andrew when I get back! I knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut! Okay, just calm down. Tell them to leave you alone, that you can't handle this right now and you'll see them when you get back. After all you don't want a repeat of what happened with Darien. Ugh, easier said then done.'

"Hey Serena." Mina said, trying to act casually.

"How have you been?" asked Lita.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are but how dare you not tell us you were leaving! We're your friends! The least you can do is tell us something like this instead of having to go to Andrew and beg him to tell us what is going on!"

'Now this she could handle. Good old Rei. Never one to control her temper.'

"Please Rei, spare me. You know nothing about what a friend should and shouldn't do." Serena said coldly.

"That's not true. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm truly sorry for what I did. I just don't know what to do to prove it to you."

Lita, Ami, and Mina just stood back and watched. This wasn't how they wanted things to go, but it was too late now, all they could do was hope that things didn't go from bad to worse.

"Please Rei, just stop it. You are not sorry at all for what you did. Ever since I started dating Darien, you've been jealous of me. You just couldn't stand the thought that I had gotten what you wanted. That for once on your life, things didn't go your way. You were waiting for a chance to break us apart. So when you finally saw a chance to take him away from me, you seized it."

Rei knew she was right. Deep down she was really mad at Serena for taking Darien away from her, but she knew they were happy and she would never do anything to jeopardize that. Besides, after awhile, that anger disappeared and soon she had Chad.

Serena was looking at Rei, searching for a hint as to what she was thinking. Then she saw it. The look in her eye when you realize something is true and even you are surprised by it.

"Oh my god Rei, I can't believe you. You really aren't sorry for what you did." Serena said softly.

It hurt to know Rei had ruined everything between her and Darien on purpose. To think that even for a moment she actually believed Rei was her friend. True, she was mad at Rei and had told everyone that they were strangers to her, but she still believed there were friends and she truly cared about them. The mere thought that Rei simply didn't care and had taken the person she loved the most away from her hurt so much.

"I hate you Rei. I wish I had never met you." Said Serena with so much venom and hurt that Rei simply had no response.

"Serena, I- you can't possibly- I mean-"

"Just leave me alone."

'Things have just gotten worse' thought Ami.

Serena pushed her way through her group of friends and walked her way towards her mom.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?"

"……"

"They just came up to me and since you weren't here, I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry honey, I figured it was okay…."

However, Serena just grabbed her ipod, put her headphones on, turned the volume up, turned away from her mom, and curled up in her seat. She knew she was being insensitive, after all none of this was her mom's fault. She didn't even know what was going on, but Serena didn't care. It hurt so much to know Rei never really cared, that it was all pretend. She couldn't wait to get out of there, away from all this mess. A change of scenery would do her good. She would bask in the sun and also use that time to focus on her studies. For, of course, her mom insisted on bringing all the schoolwork she would have to do because of her absence. There would be no more ungraceful, whiny, dumb meatball head. It was definitely a time for a change. Not only to prove to all of them that she didn't need them, but because she owed it to herself and because she knew she could be so much more.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt her mom shaking her shoulder.

"C'mon sweetie, time to go."

'Right. Time to start over.'

* * *

Well, there you have it. I hope you guys liked it!! 

Girl of Darkness


	7. Chapter 7

Ok you guys, here is the next chapter. I'm so sorry it took me so long is just that I didn't know what else to write so I had to put it on hold for awhile, but now here it is. I want to thank everyone that reviewed and those that have not given up on this story. Hopefully it is up to your liking.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor 'Victims of Love' which is owned by Good Charlotte.

* * *

Chapter 7

"Can you believe we are hours away from arriving in the Caribbean?" Ilene said excitedly.

"Yeah, hard to believe." Serena replied softly, quickly turning towards the window ending any conversation her mother might want to have.

She returned her attention back to her ipod. It seemed somehow fitting that this song, of all songs her ipod contained, would be the first one to play as soon as she put it on shuffle. She turned up the volume and let herself drown in the music.

"_In the beginning, I tried to warn you  
You play with fire, its gonna burn you  
And here we are now, in the same situation,  
You never listen, I never listen  
Now I am thinking of a way that I can make an escape  
It's got me caught up in a web and my hearts the prey  
Do you really wanna throw your heart away, away, away?_

_Everybody's hurt somebody before  
Everybody's been hurt by somebody before  
You can change but you will always come back for more  
Its a game and we are all just victims of love.  
Don't try to fight it, victims of love  
You can't decide it, victims of love, victims of love_

_Now you've back tracked  
You're running away cause it just happened again and you don't want it to end  
Trying your best to not let yourself go cold, so cold.  
Now you think about the things you thought you wanted to say  
But when you open up your mouth it don't come out that way  
Are you really gonna throw your heart away?_

_Everybody's hurt somebody before  
Everybody's been hurt by somebody before  
You can change but you will always come back for more  
Its a game and we are all just victims of love.  
Don't try to fight it, victims of love  
You can't decide it, victims of love, victims of love  
You never listen, I never listen  
Now I am thinking of a way that I can make an escape  
It's got me caught up in a web and my hearts the prey  
Do you really wanna throw your heart away, away, away?"_

"Please fasten your seatbelts. We will be landing shortly. Remember to maintain seated until the plane comes to a complete stop. Thank-you."

"Sweetheart buckle up, we are arriving and turn off your ipod."

Serena put on her seatbelt and waited. Once the plane came to a complete stop, she took off her seatbelt and started getting her things together.

"Ready?" her mom asked

"I think so."

"Ok then, let's go."

So they headed down the aisle and into the airport. Once there they looked for their baggage. After making sure they had all their things, they headed outside to get a taxi.

"What hotel are we staying at?" Serena asked.

"You'll see when we get there."

"Why can't you just tell me now?"

"It's a surprise."

"Why?"

"Because. Now be quiet and get your things. The taxi is here."

So Serena did just that. She did not say a single thing the whole ride there. She simply looked out her window not really seeing anything at all.

* * *

Serena could feel someone shaking her and calling her name. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to get her bearings. She looked at her ipod and noticed that somewhere between the ride from the airport to the hotel it had died.

'Figures. Just when I need something the most it dies on me.'

"C'mon sweetie, we're here. Get up."

Serena turned and looked at her mom with a blank expression.

"Well don't just sit there, get out."

Serena did as she was told and got out of the car. As she looked around, it all came back to her. The fight between her friends, her mom's idea of going to the Caribbean, the idea of killing Andrew when she got back for telling, Darien kissing Rei, the airport…Oh yes, she remembered everything now…great.

'I have a headache, remembering things like that are so not good for me…I can't believe I blanked out like that. I so need a long nap…'

"Serena honey, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"What? Oh yeah, I just have this small headache. No big mom. So this is where we are staying?"

For the first time Serena looked at the hotel where she and her mom where going to stay.

"Yep. Well, what do you think?"

"It's great mom. How did you find rooms? Isn't it usually full here?"

"Oh, I have my ways."

"I'm sure you do mom." Serena said through her laughter.

"C'mon let's check in."

* * *

In their Rooms

"Here we are." said Ilene.

"I guess so."

"Well, here's your key."

"What? I have my own room?"

"Yes. This is your room. Mine is next door. I figured it would be better this way. Don't you agree?"

"I guess but-"

"Don't worry sweetie, you just relax. I will be in my room. I might just take a small nap, I'm pretty tired. But you go ahead and do what you want okay?"

"Okay"

Ilene walked out of the room and closed the door softly behind her. Once her mom was gone, Serena looked around her room. It was pretty big with a full size bed and a tv in the center. A closet and a cabinet for her clothes and, of course there was a bathroom. It had a great view of the beach and the hotel's pool. All in all, it was a pretty decent room and the best part was that it was hers. She stood there for awhile and soon said to herself, "What am I going to do now?"

"I guess I can go to sleep for awhile like my mom…no but that would just make me waste a whole day. Maybe I should go to the pool for awhile. Yeah that sounds good. I'll take my sunglasses and my ipod and- Oh wait my ipod is dead. I guess I'm going to have to do without it."

And so Serena took her bikini from her suitcase and changed. She grabbed a towel and a shirt to wear over her bikini and headed out her room.

* * *

At the Pool

'Mmmh where should I sit? There's practically no room..aha! Bingo.'

She headed towards an empty seat next to a small table with a parasol. She put her towel on top of the seat and sat down.

'Shoot! I forgot to put on sunscreen. Darn. I don't want to go all the way back to my room though…'

She looked around, trying to decide what to do, when she saw some sunscreen on the chair next to her. She eyes it for awhile and looked every which way making sure no one saw her, before deciding to use it.

What she did not know, was that someone had watching her from the moment she arrived.

'I cant believe I'm going to do this but what they don't know won't hurt them. besides it's just a little bit and whoever it belongs to isn't here so there.'

She started to apply some sunscreen on herself when she heard someone say, "Do you make it a habit to use other people's sunscreen when they aren't around?"

She turned around in the direction of the voice only to find she couldn't really tell who it was because they were facing the sun making it difficult to tell how they looked like..

"What?"

"The sunscreen you're using."

She looked at the sunscreen in her hand and blushed.

"Oh. So this is your sunscreen?"

"No."

"Then how do you know this isn't my sunscreen?"

"I just figured it wasn't yours because you looked around before you actually used it."

'He saw me?! Where was he? I didn't even see him, let alone realize he was looking at me.'

"Well it is mine ok. And for your information the only reason I was looking around is because I was admiring the place. So why don't you mind your own business next time alright?"

He simply chuckled and said, "I'm sure you were."

And with that he walked away.

'Jerk. God, what's it to him if I use it, it isn't even his sunscreen to begin with. Creep.'

She continued applying the sunscreen and once she finished, she returned it to its proper place. She put on her sunglasses, closed her eyes, and lay down.

While Serena was asleep, the young man came back to get his towel and sunscreen. He looked at her for awhile and simply smiled as he walked away.

* * *

Serena awoke to the sound of her mother's laughter. She looked around and sure enough there was her mom, talking to a guy who looked strangely familiar. She stood up and headed their way.

"Hey mom, what are you doing here?"

"Oh hi sweetie, I was looking for you when I ran into this nice young man who helped me find you. I was just going to head over there but I had to hear how you two met first. Please continue Jason."

"As I was saying-"

"Mom, I'm sure Jason has things to do. I'll be more than happy to tell you later."

"On the contrary, I have absolutely nothing to do today. So it really isn't a problem."

"Oh but it is, I wouldn't feel right taking up your time by having you tell my mother about how we met, when you can be doing so many other things. Like I said, I would be more than happy to tell my mom the story."

"Thank you for your concern, but I really don't mind."

"Well, I do. I would prefer it if I told her. Don't you agree mom?"

Serena turned to loot at her mom, only to find that her mom was no longer there. Unknown to them, Ilene had left quite some time ago. After observing the two she decided to leave them alone thinking that perhaps it might just work out after all…

"Nice going. Now she's gone."

She started to walk away when Jason said, "Wait. I'll help you look for her."

"No thanks. You've done enough."

"Look I think we got off to a wrong start. How about we start over, yeah?"

Serena looked at him and said, "Sure. I'd like that."

"Good. My name is Jason. How do you do?" he said with a bow.

Serena laughed while she replied, "How do you do? My name is Serena."

"Nice to meet you Serena."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Now, how about we go find your mom."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Later that evening

"Where exactly are you going?"

"I don't know. Jason said there was this nice restaurant nearby and asked if I wanted to check it out. I figured it was okay to go, you know maybe it will help being in a different environment with different people."

"Well, I hope you have fun, but be careful okay?"

"Yes mom, don't wait up ok. Bye. Love you!"

She grabbed her coat and walked out her room and headed towards the lobby where Jason was already waiting for her.

* * *

"You look absolutely beautiful."

"Stop it. You're going to make me blush." Serena said while playfully pushing him away.

"Ah but see, when you blush you look even more gorgeous. C'mon let's go."

He grabbed hold of her hand and guided her out the hotel, while Serena let herself betaken away to wherever it was she was going.

They arrived at this beautiful restaurant near the ocean. Jason and Serena were seated in a table were they could see the whole ocean in all its greatness.

"Wow. Isn't it beautiful?" asked Serena, as she looked at the sunset making the view look even more majestic.

"Yes. Yes it is."

She turned to look at him and said, "You aren't even looking."

"What?"

"You aren't even looking at the sunset at all. What were you staring at?"

"Nothing. Forget it. So what do you want to eat?"

"I don't know, do you recommend anything?"

"Actually yes, I'll order for you, sound good?"

"No problem."

The waiter came and Jason ordered their food. As the waited for the food to come both of them talked about their lives and what they were doing in the Caribbean. Throughout the evening Serena got to know Jason pretty well and not until she got back to the hotel did she realized that not once had she thought about Darien, Rei, or any of her friends at all.

* * *

Well there you have it. Hopefully you guys liked it. Please review and tell me what you guys think!! I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again but just hang in there, I'll try to update as soon as possible but it proves difficult every time. Just don't give up hope!!

Girl of Darkness


	8. Chapter 8

Ok people, the next chapter is finally here!! Hope you guys like it!! And I want to thank all the people who have not given up on this story. I know it takes me sometime to update, but as I've said just bear with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon nor the song 'I Will Remember You.'

* * *

Chapter 8

"So, would you like to go to the club tonight? They are having this huge thing."

"I don't know. I'm going to be busy—"

"C'mon. Think of it as a good-bye party. You leave tomorrow and it's your last night of freedom."

She couldn't believe she was already leaving. Time had gone by so quickly and today was her last day here. She couldn't bear to being without Jason. She was so used to him being around her all the time now, that going home without him would leave her feeling empty. Ever since they met, they had been hanging out. She liked having someone to talk or with again. It was going to be so hard saying good-bye to him tomorrow. How was she going to survive going back home and facing everyone without him? He had made everything bearable, as if nothing had gone wrong. But most of all he made her forget, forget all the things she was running away from. She needed him. More than he knew…

Tears slowly fell down her cheek.

"Earth to Serena. Are you okay? You never answered me. What do you say? Want to go— Serena, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I can't go. I just can't. Not yet."

"What are you talking about? No one is making you leave." But even as he said that, Jason knew they were no longer talking about the same thing.

Tears continued falling and Jason couldn't bear to see her crying anymore.

"Come here." He said and he pulled her close to him and hugged her tight, almost as if he would never let go.

Serena welcomed the embrace and wept softly onto his shoulder as she held him tightly.

"Feeling better?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean- I mean I wasn't-"

"Stop. Don't apologize. Don't say anything. It happens. Besides, it was just the excuse I was looking for to get you into my arms."

He winked at her and tried to pull her close to him again but Serena just laughed and playfully pushed him away. Jason pretended to be offended while making a sad, hurtful look. And just like that, everything was ok again and Serena couldn't help but smile.

"There it is. That wonderful smile of yours. Good. I'm glad I got you to smile. Now I know you are going to be just fine."

Serena couldn't help but make her smile even wider. She was definitely going to miss him greatly. She leaned closer to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. And I would love to go dancing with you."

She gave him one last smile and walked away.

* * *

"Mom, do you think things will be different?"

She was laying on the bed in her mother's room for awhile now, just looking at the ceiling and thinking, when she finally said something.

"What do you mean sweetheart?"

"Nevermind. Forget it."

Ilene looked up from the magazine she was reading and looked at her daughter laying on the bed.

"You know sweetie, the only way things will be different is if we make them so. We can't expect other to change things for us…for you. You must do that on your own. I hope you know that honey."

But Serena just turned away from her mother and faced the window while softly saying to herself, "I think I'm beginning to…"

* * *

At the Club

"Have I told you you look amazing?" Jason said.

"Only about a hundred times. And it's getting kind of annoying Jason," Serena said playfully, "I mean honestly I am not that great looking and hearing you say that I look amazing over and over again bugs me. One time is fine."

"That's were you are wrong." Jason said to no one in particular as he followed Serena inside.

The music was playing, lights were flashing, the people were either dancing or hanging with their friends, the atmosphere overall was set to have a good time and party.

Jason and Serena found a table and sat down. Serena out her coat around her chair and set her purse on the table.

"Wow. This place looks great." She said.

"Eh. I've seen better."

"Oh please, no you have not."

"But I have."

"Where? When?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"I understand, you don't have to tell me anything. Just know that I think you're lying, simple as that."

"Care to dance?" Jason said as he changed the subject and extended his hand out to her.

Serena reached out to hold his hand while looking uncertainly at it and stopped midway.

"I'm not such a good dancer. This was a bad idea. Maybe we can go somewhere else."

"You'll do fine." He said as he grabbed a hold of her hand and dragged her out onto the dance floor.

"Dance." He said.

At first, Serena just stood there, frozen to that spot. For some reason she felt really nervous and she didn't know why. It wasn't like she didn't know how to dance. She thought she was a pretty decent dancer. So she didn't understand why she was frozen and couldn't move.

'Ok clam down. It's just dancing. Just move to the music.'

And yet Serena continued to stand there.

'Alright, just imitate Jason. That isn't so hard. I can do that.'

Still there was no movement on her part.

'C'mon! Just do SOMETHING Serena!'

Slowly she began to move. She felt like a complete idiot who didn't know how to dance. But at least she was moving and wasn't just standing there.

"See, you can dance." He whispered into her ear.

She gave him a weak smile and tried to refocus all her thoughts on dancing.

"You know, I find it easier to dance if I just relax. Don't try so hard. Don't think. Just feel."

'Right. Ok, just feel. Don't think. Feel…'

She let go of everything and stopped thinking and trying to concentrate. She just felt the music and danced…

* * *

Jason's POV

She looked amazing on the dance floor. At first she looked nervous and tense, but once she relaxed and let go, she looked like a goddess. No girl here could compare to her. She stood above them all. The way she moved was completely mesmerizing. She was in total control and in sync with the beat of the music. Her eyes were closed, her face was flushed, and every now and again she would stick out her tongue to wet her dry lips. Her golden hair wrapped around her body as she moved and shined as the lights hit her head. She looked better than ever and I regretted not bringing her sooner. I could see all the guys staring at her while she remained completely oblivious to them, which was fine by me. But just so none of these guys got the wrong idea, I pulled her closer to me and danced.

* * *

She felt someone put their arm around her waist and pull her close to them. She was about to pull away when they whispered in her ear, "Relax. Just dance."

She smiled and began to move with him while still staying in sync with the beat of the music.

She didn't know for how long they had been dancing but she did know that she needed a break and something to drink.

"Jason?"

"Yeah."

"I'm thirsty, hot, and need to catch my breath. Let's take a break yeah?"

"Ok. Let's go to our table."

He grabbed her hand and led her back to their table. She sat down and took a deep breath.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Just water please."

"I'll right. I'll be back ok? Don't go anywhere."

"Jason, where could I possibly go?"

But Jason ignored her question and went to get their drinks.

* * *

Minutes Later

A couple of minutes later he returned with their drinks. Jason handed Serena her drink as he sat down.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Serena took a huge gulp of her water and then set it down on the table.

"So, I thought you said you didn't know how to dance."

"I don't." said Serena.

"Right. Well you are obviously lying because you looked pretty damn good out here on the dance floor."

"Shut up. You're just saying that to make me feel better for looking like a total idiot."

"Trust me; the word idiot was the last thing I thought of to describe how you looked."

"Really?"

"Totally. You looked great."

"Thanks." Said Serena as she blushed and averted her gaze from Jason.

"Anyways, I think we should head back to the hotel. It is getting kind of late and you are going to leave early tomorrow. So yeah…"

"I guess you're right. Ok, let's go then."

They got a cab and headed back to the hotel.

* * *

At the Hotel

"So, this is where we go our separate ways." Jason said.

"Yeah."

There was a pause and then Serena said, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course. I wouldn't forgive you if you left without saying good-bye."

"Right." She said with a crestfallen look.

"Hey, cheer up. Don't look so sad. We'll see each other again. I promise."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm not. We will see each other again. I know that for a fact."

"Right. Well good night then."

She started to walk away while thinking, 'I really want to believe you Jason. It's just that I don't want to get my hopes up and get them crushed. I've learned not to believe in the promises people make that seem impossible to keep.'

All of a sudden, she feels someone grab and twist her around. She comes face to face with Jason.

"Jason. What is it?"

But Jason ignored her and cupped her face, pulled her closely to him, and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away, looked directly at her, and said, "We'll see each other again. I'll make sure of it. I'm not letting you go that easily. I'm not Darien."

With that he let her go and walked away. While Serena just stood there, dazed.

"What just happened?" she asked herself once she recovered, "Did he just kiss me? Why? Why do he do this to me? Does he see more than a friend? Do I? Was he just trying to make a point? And why did he bring Darien into this? How dare he? Ugh, so many questions. I'm so confused. This hurting my head. I need sleep."

She walked over to the elevator, clicked the number of her floor and waited. Once she got there she headed to her room and walked in.

* * *

The Next Morning

Serena woke to the sound of knocking. She clumsily got out of bed and opened the door.

"Oh good, you're up. Hurry up and get dressed. I already called the front desk to call for a cab so it can take us to the airport. So get ready." Ilene said.

Serena just stood there staring blankly at her mother as she walked away. She slowly closed the door and headed towards the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror; she looked horrible. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night. She had gotten to her room and finished packing all her things. Once she finished she put on her pajamas and went to bed. She had expected to fall asleep right away but she was wrong. She kept thinking about Jason and the kiss, but most of all she kept thinking of Darien. She felt guilty for what had happened. She had let Jason kiss her when technically she and Darien were still a couple. They hadn't officially broken up yet, so she had done exactly what Rei and Darien had. She was being stupid she knew, for she had every right to kiss any guy she wanted without feeling guilty but she couldn't help it. And the feeling had stayed with her all through the night.

"Stupid Jason. Why did he kiss me?! That jerk. And stupid Darien. Why can't he just disappear? Why can't I let him go?!" Serena said out loud.

She splashed some cold water on her face, brushed her teeth, and went out to change.

* * *

Lobby

_I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories_

Serena was feeling anxious. The cab was here and there was still no sign of Jason. She didn't know exactly how to react to that. Part of her was glad he hadn't shown up. She couldn't take another surprise kiss from him. And yet, she didn't want to leave without saying good-bye. What if she never saw him again? What then?

"Hey."

Serena turned at the sound of his voice.

"Jason! You came!"

She ran towards him and hugged him tightly.

_Remember the good times that we had?  
I let them slip away from us when things got bad  
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun  
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one_

"Of course I came. I told you I would. Besides you didn't think I was really going to let you leave without saying good-bye to me first."

"I don't want to say good-bye though. You said we would see each other again. So if that's true, there's no need for a good-bye…right?"

Jason stared at her. She believed him. It was her way of saying that she believed him. He heard it loud and clear with that.

"That's right. This is just a type of 'farewell, I'll see you soon' type of thing. And it came at a good time because let me tell you I need a break from you. You were starting to get somewhat annoying." He said jokingly.

"Please. If anything, I'm the one who needs a break from you."

_I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories_

"Serena honey, let's go!" Ilene shouted.

Serena turned towards her mother and yelled, "Ok mom, I'm going! Give me a second!"

She looked at Jason again and said, "I guess this is it."

"I guess so."

And before she had time to second guess herself, Serena leaned into him and kissed him.

"Don't forget me."

"Never."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

_I'm so tired but I can't sleep  
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep  
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word  
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard_

With that Serena walked towards the cab. She gave Jason one last look before going in. the driver turned on the cab and drove away. The last thing Serena saw was Jason waving good-bye before he disappeared.

'Don't cry Serena, don't cry. You'll see him again. He said we would meet again. So then, there's no reason to cry.'

But she couldn't help it. It seemed all she could do was cry.

_But I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories_

It had begun to rain, something that hadn't happen all week. She liked to think that the reason it hadn't rained was because she had been happy, up until today. Things had been going great. She had almost forgotten that it was only temporarily and that sooner or later she had to go back home. A place she no longer enjoyed going to. Everywhere she went, she had memories and it cause her pain. There was no where she could go to be alone and just think without being reminded of her past life. A life that no longer existed and had been all a lie. She wished Jason was here. He would have found a way to cheer her up again and save her from this pit falling into and couldn't seem to escape. She didn't even realize when he became so important to her nor when she had become dependent of him. And now he was gone, just like Darien was, and Rei, and Mina, Lita, Ami. Everyone that had said would always be there for her were gone. She was left alone again. Just like before.

_I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose  
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose  
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night  
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light_

"Honey," Ilene said softly, "I'm sure you'll see him again. Don't cry. Things will work themselves out. You'll see."

She hoped, for her sake, that both her mom and Jason turned out to be right.

_And I will remember you  
Will you remember me?  
Don't let your life pass you by  
Weep not for the memories  
Weep not for the memories_

* * *

Airport in Japan

'I'm home. And yet, I feel nothing but sadness here.'

"Aren't you glad to be back?" her mother asked.

"I guess." She said.

"C'mon sweetie, things can't be that bad. You're home, cheer up. You know what they say 'home is where the heart is.' Now c'mon, let's go home."

"Sorry mom, but I just don't know where my heart is right now."

* * *

Serena's House

Everything was the same but somehow it wasn't. Everything was different. Things can never remain the same. She learned that the hard way.

"Well, we are finally home. What would you like to do?" Ilene asked.

"I think I'll just go to my room and put my things away."

"Alright. Don't take too long though; I'm going to get dinner started."

Serena walked up the stairs and towards her room. She stood outsider her door and for awhile just started at it. After awhile she slowly opened the door to her room. She walked in and half expected it to be different, but it wasn't, it looked the same. So much had happened since she was last here. Perhaps it was time to redecorate her room. After all she wasn't the same naïve girl she was back then. She closed her door and laid down on her bed.

"I'm home."

* * *

Well there you have it. Hopefully you guys liked it!! Don't forget to review!! Thanks a lot!!

Girl of Darkness


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back! It's been awhile I know but ch.9 is finally here. Hopefully those of you who have been reading and reviewing my story haven't given up on it and will continue doing the same. Please let me know what you guys think. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 9

Today was the day she was going back to school. No more hiding out. No more pretending everything was ok. After being gone for a whole week, things were going to be even weirder especially after their last encounter. She had left in bad terms with them and if anything, disappearing for a week after such a thing makes matters even worse. But she was a different person. Jason had helped her with that, even though he had no idea he had done so. She didn't even thank him for it.

'Okay Serena, enough about Jason. He isn't here anymore. You need to focus on the present right now. So get it together and move on.'

"Right," she said aloud, "I need to move on and put Jason on hold."

With that in mind Serena got ready, grabbed her things and headed to the arcade. She wanted to see Andrew before going to school.

* * *

At the Arcade

It had been awhile since she was last here. She had missed it while she was away. Andrew still made the best milkshakes she had ever had. No doubt about it. When Serena walked in she could see Andrew cleaning his spotless counter, as he usually did.

She walked up to the counter and said, "Hi Andrew! Miss me?"

Andrew looked up at the sound of her voice and said, "Serena! You're back!"

He stopped what he was doing and walked towards her. He engulfed her in a big bear hug and said, as he let go, "It's good to have you back with us."

"Glad to be back Andrew."

'Somewhat' she thought.

Andrew walked back to the counter and started making a chocolate milkshake. Meanwhile, Serena took a seat and set her bag on a chair next to her.

"I trust everything went well then?" he asked her as he handed her the milkshake.

Serena took a huge sip of the milkshake and said, "Yum. I definitely missed your milkshakes Andrew."

Andrew laughed and said, "Well I'm glad that at least my milkshakes were missed. Apparently they have a bigger place in your heart than I do."

"Don't be silly Andrew. Of course I missed you! But it's true; your milkshakes _do_ have a bigger place in my heart."

"I'm hurt. Curse the milkshakes!"

Serena couldn't stop laughing. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him.

"Anyways, I have so much to tell you Andrew but mind you, I'm still mad you told all of them I was leaving! Don't think I've forgotten. So to get back at you I'm going to say this: While on vacation I kissed a guy."

"You did what?!"

She stood up, grabbed her things and started to walk away. Andrew's smile was gone.

"Bye Andrew, I'll see you afterschool!" she said and walked out.

"Serena come back here! Serena. Serena!" Andrew shouted, but she was long gone.

"Damn it. I guess I'm going to have to wait. 'Till then I have to find a way to hunt this guy down for taking advantage of her."

At the same time, Darien walked in. he rushed towards Andrew and asked, "What's that Serena?"

Pulled out of her thoughts about what a jerk this guy Serena kissed was and how he was going to beat him to pulp when he found him, Andrew was somewhat out of it.

"Well was it?!" Darien asked impatiently.

"Was it what?"

"Serena?!"

"Oh. Yeah, she just dropped by to say hi. She just got back actually."

"So she's back?"

"Yeah pretty much."

Darien couldn't be happier. He was going to set things straight. Maybe they could start over and this time he was going to get it right. He would do anything that he needed to do to prove to Serena how much he cared. He will rebuild her trust in him no matter what.

Andrew could read exactly what was going through Darien's mind. He didn't want to tell him but he had to. If not, Darien wouldn't listen to him and he would go off and try to find Serena, which didn't seem like a good idea after what he had just learned.

"Listen Dare, there's something you should know."

But Darien wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking about his next move and how to approach her. So, Andrew took a different approach.

"Dare, it's about Serena."

Pulled out of his thoughts at the mention of Serena's name, he said, "What is it? Is she ok? Did something happen? What?"

"I think she's moved on. Perhaps it's best if you stay away from her for awhile. At least until she gets settled in."

"What do you mean? That's ridiculous. She couldn't have moved on. Not yet. We need to talk! We can't do that if I stay away from her."

"Dare, she found someone. She-"

"I'm out of here. I have to find Serena."

"She kissed someone!"

Darien refused to listen. He didn't want to believe it was really over. Darien just stood there. How could this happen? When did everything go so wrong? It was not suppose to be this way. Had she really moved on? He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it. And the thought of some guy kissing her was enough to get his blood boiling. All the while Andrew was talking.

"Dare look, maybe I'm wrong. She was kind of angry because I told you guys she was leaving. So maybe she made it up to get back at me, you know? Dare?"

"Yeah. Look Drew I gotta go. I'll see you later."

* * *

Serena stood outside her school building.

"Okay," she said, "I can do this. It's just like any other day. Ignore all of them and just focus on the class and the material covered."

She walked up the steps and into the building. As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by a familiar sight; friends talking to friends, laughter, noisy chatter, students heading to class while others lagged behind. Surprisingly, Serena had missed this. It was a part of her, after all she spent the better part of her day there. But then again, she found herself missing many things lately. She sighed and started heading to her first class.

Serena walked into the class and sat in her regular seat. She looked around and realized that neither Ami nor Mina were there yet. That was good, for the time being she could avoid them knowing she was back, well at least until attendance.

The bell rang and class began. Miss Haruna was at the front taking attendance but Serena was blocking her out. She had seen Ami and Mina walk in and from that moment on she had begun to freak out. It won't be long before they realize she was back and since she had Mina in her second class as well, she wouldn't be able to hide anymore. Serena was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called out.

"Tsukino, Serena?"

"Present" she said.

Miss Haruna looked up while the whole class turned at the sound of her voice. Everyone was staring at her and she could feel Mina and Ami's eyes on her, but she tried to ignore them as much as she could.

"Ah, Miss Tsukino, glad to have you back." Miss Haruna said, "After class I would like to speak with you."

Serena just nodded and Miss Haruna continued taking attendance. Slowly, one by one heads started turning away from Serena and towards the front of the class.

'Great. Now I can't run. Mina will definitely wait for me.'

She glanced over to Mina and Ami and saw them whispering something to each other.

'Great.'

All through class Serena paid attention and took notes. She was glad she had gotten work while she had been away, if not she would have been lost.

The bell rang once again and people began gathering their stuff and were shuffling out of class. Serena didn't bother hurrying since Miss Haruna wanted to talk to her. Once everyone left she went up to Miss Haruna

"You wanted to talk to me Miss Haruna?"

"Yes. Now first I want to know how you are. Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes, of course. I feel much better" she said.

She had expected this, her teachers asking her if she was okay. Even though she had expected it, it still angered her when she was asked. It was none of their business.

"Ok good. I'm glad to hear that. If you want to talk I am here ok? Now, do you have the work I assigned you over the break?"

"Yup here you go."

"Thank you. And like I said, if you have any questions about anything or just want to talk, you can come to me ok?"

"Thank you Miss Haruna, I'll keep that in mind."

She was walking out the door when she saw Mina waiting for her.

'Great. Just what I needed. Ugh, why can't they leave me alone?'

"Hey Serena. Uhmm…how are you?"

Serena debated on whether or not she should just ignore Mina and walk away. Yet, she decided against it. At one point she had realized her friends weren't the reason she was hurt and upset. She had used the meeting as an excuse to cut them out of her life but really the ones that hurt her were Darien and Rei. Mina, Lita, Ami, and Luna were caught in her clash with Darien and Rei. So instead she decided that perhaps now would be a good time to mend her friendship with them.

Serena stared at Mina awhile longer and then said, "I've been good."

Mina was surprised Serena had answered. For a second there she thought Serena was just going to walk away.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Serena gave her a half smile and just stood there. There was an awkward silence so Serena said, "We should head to class."

As they walked Mina tried again to start a conversation but didn't quiet succeed. There was just too much distance between with so much left unsaid.

They arrived to class and took their seats. Class began and here was a repeat of what happened in her first class. Serena figured it was going to be the same in the rest of her classes. Eventually people would stop staring and class would resume.

Serena was taking notes when she heard Mina calling her name.

"Psst. Serena" she whispered.

"What?" Serena hissed.

"I wanted to ask you if…you wanted…"

"Yes?"

"Wanted to have lunch with us?"

"Oh."

'What should I do? I want to and yet at the same time I don't. What if Ami and Lita don't want me there. Maybe I shouldn't. Some other time maybe. Yet what if I'm not invited again? I could lose my chance to make things right.'

"Serena?"

"Umm…sure."

"Great. I'll see you at lunch then. Same spot as always."

"Ok."

The rest of her classes were a blur. All she could think about was what would happen during lunch. She had pictured many scenarios and in all of them things went from bad to worse. When the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch, Serena was having a panic attack.

'Ok you can do this. Just relax. You're being ridiculous. There's no need to panic.'

She took a deep breath and braced herself to what was to come. Whatever happened would happen. With that in mind she headed outside.

* * *

Meanwhile

Mina had told the girls that Serena was going to join them for lunch. At first Lita and Ami were shocked at Mina's news but slowly they began to recover.

"Are you serious?! I can't believe it" said Lita.

"I know. I was surprised she said yes when I asked her" replied Mina.

"What do you think this means?"

"I don't know."

"Do Rei and Darien know she's back?" asked Ami.

"I don't think so. I haven't see Rei nor Darien so…" Mina said.

"I'm going to say no. I doubt Serena would tell either of them she's back and unless she ran into them, which is unlikely, they wouldn't know" added Lita.

"What should we-" began Ami but was interrupted by Mina.

"Serena's coming."

* * *

Serena saw them before they saw her. They were talking about something so they hadn't noticed her.

'Just as well. I need a few seconds to compose myself.'

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and started walking towards them. As she got nearer she heard Mina say, "Serena's coming."

Lita and Ami turned to look at her. With all three of them looking at her, Serena felt even more nervous.

'Why are they staring at me? Why can't they turn around or at least look at something else.'

Once she reached them, all of four of them just stared at one another. Nobody knew what to say.

'This was a mistake. What was I thinking?'

Mina was the first to break the silence.

"HI Serena. Why don't you sit down?"

Lita and Ami made room and Serena sat down.

"So…how have you been?" asked Lita.

"Uhmm, good. Fine" replied Serena.

"How was your vacation?" asked Ami.

"Relaxing."

"That's good."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence began to surround them. Serena didn't know what to do. There was so much she wanted to say to them but she couldn't find her voice.

Mina was fidgeting she couldn't stay quiet any longer, so she burst.

"This is ridiculous. Serena, we're sorry ok? We were wrong in doing what we did. We realize that. But don't you see? We are still you're friends and we care about you. Can't you see that?! There shouldn't be this awkwardness between us. We are best friends. We are your guardians. We protect you. Why can't you see that?"

Ami and Lita stared at Mina in disbelief. While both agreed with her, they didn't know how Serena would react. Nor did they agree that this was the best way in telling Serena.

"I'm s-sorry I shouldn't of…I mean…"

Mina was at a loss. She didn't know what to do. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to just to stay quiet but what was done was done. She couldn't see Serena's face and she hadn't said anything.

She stood up and walked towards Serena. She kneeled beside her and said, "Serena? Say something. Please?"

When Serena looked up, she had tears in her eyes.

"Mina, I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean for all this to happen. I was just so hurt and upset. I wasn't thinking straight. I was looking for you guys and then I saw you with Rei and Darien and I just- I-"

"It's ok Serena. I understand" said Mina.

By now Lita and Ami were next to her as well.

"We are here for you Serena. We always will be" said Ami.

"Ami is right. We got your back" added Lita.

"Oh Ami. Lita. Thank you so much. I don't know what to say. Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive Serena. You were upset about Rei and Darien. Seeing all of us together tipped you over and we're sorry for that" said Ami.

Serena just nodded and smiled.

"I've missed you guys" Serena said as she hugged them.

"And we've missed you" replied Lita as they pulled apart.

All four of them were snuffling and teary eyed.

"I think we need some tissue" said Lita.

"I've got some napkins" said Mina.

She passed them around to each of them. They wiped their tears away and blew their nose.

"Ok so, I've been dying to know, how was your vacation? What did you do?" asked Mina.

"Right. See any cute guys?" added Lita.

Serena smiled and began to laugh. Soon the other girls joined in. And for that moment it seemed as if nothing had happened. Everything was fine and nothing had gone wrong.

"Well…" began Serena.

* * *

There you have it. Hope you guys liked it. Please review!

- Girl of Darkness


	10. Chapter 10

Next chapter is up! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 10

Darien was in his apartment going over what Andrew had told him. So many thoughts were racing in Darien's mind, that nothing made sense anymore. The image of Serena kissing some guy kept appearing in his head. No matter how hard he tired, he couldn't push it away. In the end, he welcomed it. In a way, he figured, he deserved to suffer since it was his fault all this had happened.

Frustrated that his thoughts were getting him nowhere, he decided he needed some coffee. He went into his kitchen and turned on the coffeemaker. He needed to relax and calm his thoughts. He needed a plan. He needed to talk to her.

* * *

Meanwhile

The girls were walking towards the arcade. Serena had almost forgotten that she had to talk to Andrew. It was nice talking to Mina, Ami, and Lita. She had missed them so much. Yet she knew this was only the beginning. She still had to talk to Rei and Darien. For now though, she wouldn't concern herself with that. She would deal with them later.

They walked into the arcade and sat in a booth.

"I'll be right back" said Serena.

She walked over to the counter where Andrew was waiting for her.

"So you guys made up?"

"Yeah. I figured none of this was their fault you know?" she replied as she glanced at her friends.

"Well that's good. Have you talked to anybody else?"

Serena knew who he meant, yet she took a moment before replying.

"No. Not yet anyways. I can't ignore them forever, I know. I just don't to deal with it just yet."

"I understand. So, what will it be?"

"One chocolate milkshake, two cokes, and one water please."

"Coming right up."

As Andrew was getting the drinks, Serena told him about Jason and everything that happened on her trip.

"Well, I still think I should punch him or something" said Andrew as he handed her the drinks.

"Andrew!"

"What?"

"You are not going to harm him in any way."

"I was only joking."

"Righttt, you were 'joking.'"

Serena grabbed the drinks and walked back to their booth.

"Here we go. Cokes for Lita and Mina, and water for Ami" said Serena as she handed each their drinks.

"Thanks" they replied simultaneously.

"No problem" she said as she sat down.

"I'm so jealous of you Serena. I want to meet a cute guy like Jason. So not fair. You are so lucky" said Mina.

"What are you talking about Mina? Guys practically throw themselves at you."

"I guess but still…I want someone who actually cares about me."

"Don't worry Mina, I'm sure you will meet him soon" said Lita.

"And when you least expect it" added Ami.

"Exactly" said Serena.

"You guys are right. Thanks. So Serena, tell us more about this Jason fellow" said Mina.

"Do you think you will see him again?" asked Lita.

"I don't know. He said that we would see each other again but I don't see how. I don't know where nor when we would see each other. All I know is that he promised me that we would and I believe him."

"That it so romantic," said Mina, "You're like Romeo and Juliet."

"How are they at all like Romeo and Juliet Mina?" asked Lita.

"Don't you see? It's obvious they want to be together but they can't. They were torn apart before they could declare their love to one another. Now all these obstacles stand in their way of true love. Both are aching to be in each other's arms again. However, that idea seems unlikely as time goes by and so Serena begins to doubt his promise. And just when everything seems lost, Jason is going to arrive and sweep Serena off her feet. He is going to take her in his arms and kiss her passionately. He'll tell her how much he missed her and how he never wants to be apart. Serena will have tears of joy and they will confess their love for one another and they will live happily ever after" Mina said with a content sigh.

She was staring dreamly at the picture she had created while Ami, Serena, and Lita were just staring at her. Mina snapped out of her daydream and focused back on the present. She realized that the girls were just staring at her.

"What? It could happen" she said.

Serena, Ami, and Lita started to laugh; soon after Mina joined them. They had tears in their eyes before they were able to stop.

"You watch way too many movies Mina" stated Lita as the laughter died down.

"I can't help it. I love romantic movies."

"That's nothing new" said Serena.

"Well?" said Mina.

"Well what?" asked a confused Serena.

"Do you love him?"

Ami had been quiet this whole time. She had listening to her friends and simply enjoying their company. She was glad they were talking again. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but think of Rei and Darien. She knew what they had done was pretty much unforgivable but still…it didn't feel quite right without Rei. When Mina asked Serena if she loved Jason, she again thought of Darien. Without even thinking, Ami said, "What about Darien?"

Silence.

Ami lifted her eyes from the table ad looked at Serena. Realizing what she had said, she began to blush.

"I'm sorry. I didn't– I mean I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry Serena."

Serena smiled at her and said, "It's ok Ami. Really. It's fine that you asked because I don't know what I'm going to do about him."

"Are you going to talk to him?" Lita asked softly.

"I have to. I just don't know what I'm going to say when I do. Ridiculous as it sounds, I don't want to hurt him. I still care about him. I'm pathetic aren't I?"

"No, you most definitely are not pathetic. It's Darien. You loved him. Of course you still care about him. You probably always will" said Mina.

"I wish there was something we could do" Ami said.

Serena sighed. Why did things have to be so hard?

"I think I just need to think. I'll see you guys later ok?"

She got out of the booth and was starting to walk away, when Ami's voice stopped her.

"Wait Serena. I almost forgot. Now that you're here, umm do you want Luna back?"

"Luna of course. I've missed her. Is she ok?"

"Yes, she's fine."

"You think she'll forgive me?"

"Of course she will."

"I'll pick her up later then, is that ok?"

Ami nodded her agreement.

"Thanks Ami, for taking care of her. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye you guys."

She waved good-bye to Andrew and left. Once outside she didn't know where to go. So, she turned right and began walking.

* * *

Darien's Apartment

Darien was pacing. So far all his ideas had been horrible. He had discarded them all as useless. All he really had was his conviction that he needed to talk to Serena.

"Damn, damn, damn! What am I going to do?"

His pacing was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking. He went to his door and opened it.

* * *

Serena had been walking without really knowing where she was going. She took a look at her surroundings and realized she was heading towards Darien's apartment.

'I guess my subconscious knew what I wanted to know.'

She looked up at the building, imagining Darien in his apartment, most likely drinking coffee. She pictured herself pouting because he had gotten up from the couch to refill his cup and she was no longer in his embrace. He would be chuckling at her antics and- She stopped herself. She shook her head, trying to shake the image her mind had created out of her head. She looked away and continued walking.

Despite the fact that Serena had tried to walk as slowly as possible, she was in front of Darien's door far too quickly.

'I've come this far. Can't back out now.'

She lifted her hand and knocked. Waiting for him to open the door seemed to take an eternity, which made her even more nervous. It allowed for doubts and insecurities to sneak their way into her head. It also made her realize that she hadn't thought this true. What if he wasn't home? What if he was on a date and some girl opened the door? She would die if that were to happen.

She heard someone fumbling with the lock - her hear began to beat a little faster - saw the doorknob twisting - no other noise but her heartbeat could be heard - and the door was opened.

Heart stopped and there he was. Darien. Her Darien. Handsome as always. He looked even more handsome than she remembered. His dark, ebony hair had fallen on his face making her think of the times she would reach up to push it out of his face. An excuse just to touch his hair and get a better look at his eyes. Midnight blue eyes that made her lose herself every time she looked into them. Eyes that now were staring at her in surprise.

"Hi" she said.

"Serena" he said softly, afraid that if he said her name aloud she would disappear.

She looked so beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to put his arms around her and kiss her. Instead he moved aside and said, "Come in."

Serena hesitated for a second before walking in. Darien closed the door behind her and went into the living room. At the sight of the couch, Serena wanted to cry. The image from before come to her and this time it wouldn't go away.

"Want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine thank you."

"Umm, do you want to sit down?" he said, gesturing towards the couch.

Not trusting her voice, Serena nodded. They sat in silence for awhile, neither of them sure what to say.

Trying to break the silence, Darien spoke first.

"Uhh, so how have you been?"

"Good. You?"

"Good."

"That's good."

"Yeah…how was your vacation?"

"It was okay."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah…"

Silence fell again.

'This is ridiculous. This is not what we should be talking about.'

Serena gathered her courage, looked at Darien, and said, "We have to talk. And not about my vacation or anything, but about us."

"I agree."

"Okay."

"Do you want to start? Or should I?"

"I'll start. I have to say this now before I back out."

Darien nodded and waited for her to start.

"Alright. This is so hard to say. Darien, oh Darien. You know how much you mean to me right? How much I love you? So you have to know how much seeing you kiss Rei hurt me. It hurt so much. There are no words to describe what I felt. I couldn't bear it and I don't think I could go through it again. How could I possibly trust you after that? How can I be sure you won't hurt me again? I don't think we can see each other anymore Darien."

As she was talking, some tears had escaped. Now, she wiped them away. She noticed that Darien seemed closer than before, but ignored it. She looked at Darien and waited for him to start.

"You don't know how many times I've pictured this conversation in my head. Yet, I still have no idea what to say. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently. But I can't. I now I've hurt you that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you can't give up on us. I love you so much Serena. You are everything to me and without you I would be so lost. I will do whatever it takes to make you see how sorry I am and show you how much I love you. I don't care how long it takes. I love you and I always will. Don't you see that?"

Darien lifted his hand and wiped the tear from Serena's face. She hadn't realized he was so close.

'When did he get so close?! Why didn't I notice before? I need to move further away.'

Yet, Serena stayed where she was. She was rooted to that spot. She could feel Darien's warmth and was well aware of his hand that still rested on her cheek.

Slowly, Darien inched his face closer to Serena. As she realized this, she inhaled sharply and tensed. Before she knew it, Darien's lips were on hers. She had forgotten how soft his lips were. She began to melt and respond to him.

At first, Darien only intended to give her a peck on the lips and pull away. He hadn't expected her to respond at all. Now he could feel her lips move against his and his control was gone. She tested of strawberries. He couldn't get enough of her. He pressed her close to him as the kiss grew more urgent, more passionate. It had been too long since they last kissed.

Serena was running her hands up and down his back when she realized what she was doing. She put her hands on his chest and shoved while she pulled away.

While the shove didn't really budge Darien, it worked in breaking the spell. He let go of Serena and moved away.

Both were breathing heavily and had to regain their breath before either could speak.

"I should go" said Serena rather breathlessly.

Again, she made no move to get up. She felt weak. If she stood up, she had a feeling her knees would buckle. Darien stared at her and wondered what she was thinking.

"Stay" he whispered.

"I can't. I have to go."

She stood up and started walking, but Darien grabbed a hold of her hand. Without letting her go, he stood next to her and spoke.

"You don't have to go."

"I do. I have to-"

"No you don't."

He kissed her softly and gently once again. He lifted his head only inches from her, looked into her eyes, and once again said, "Stay."

"Oh Darien. I can't. I need to think. This is too confusing right now."

"How is it confusing? This is us. It feels right and you know it."

"I'm sorry Darien."

She pulled away and walked out the door.

* * *

Hope you guys liked it! Please review! Thanks you guys :)

-Girl of Darkness


	11. Chapter 11

The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)

Oh please excuse any grammar errors (past or future errors). Hopefully I caught them all but some escape me. I hope they don't deter from what I'm trying to convey.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 11

All Serena could do was run. Run as fast as and as far away as she could. This was not all how she wanted things to go. What did this mean? Was she willing to forgive him? No! Maybe? What about Jason? And Rei?

She had to stop thinking. She had to run faster. She was thinking too much and that's the last thing she wanted to do. She had to escape her own thoughts. Faster until her muscles ached.

Her house came into sight. She strained herself to run even faster until she reached her door. Walking in, she almost collapsed. She was exhausted. Her knees trembled, as well as her whole body,

"Serena? Is that you?"

"Yes mom."

"Well goodness, I was beginning to worry. Where were you?"

"Oh you know just at the park…running."

Her mother crossed her arms, looking at her like she didn't believe her.

"Running?"

"Yep."

"Mmhmm…well Ami came looking for you. She said you were supposed to meet her?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Is she still here?"

"No, she left. She just came to drop off Luna."

"That's great. I'm going to go see her ok? Good night mom."

"Good night."

Once in her room, Serena collapsed on her bed. All she wanted was sleep. A deep sleep in which she could escape and forget.

"Careful."

Luna jumped from the bed and landed gracefully on the floor.

"Luna! Oh I've missed you so! I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Serena picked Luna up and hugger her tightly. Tears fell down her eyes, which seemed to be happening more often than not. So much for not crying anymore.

"Don't cry Serena. All is forgotten."

"Oh Luna I don't know what to do anymore. Everything is so messed up. Nothing makes sense."

"Tell me what happened Serena. From the beginning."

Serena placed Luna beside her and hugged her knees. She rested her head there and began her tale. Luna curled herself around Serena's feet and listened.

Thirty minutes later and Serena was coming to an end.

"I haven't even talked to Rei yet and I'm already at a loss. What happens when I do talk to her?"

"Once you talk to her, I'm sure you'll know what to do. She is your friend after all. You'll know."

"If she had been my friend, I wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place, now would I?"

"Fair enough. Let's concentrate on Darien and Jason then. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"The question is whether or not you are going to forgive Darien. Depending on your answer, you'll know what to do with Jason."

"I just don't know. What I told Darien is true. How can I forgive him after what he did? _Should_ I forgive him?"

"That's for you to decide Serena. However, maybe you should give this Jason a chance."

"How? I may never see him again."

"You never know, maybe you will. From what you said, he sounds like a decent guy. There doesn't seem to be anything 'wrong' with him, right?"

Hugging her knees even tighter, Serena whispered, "He's not Darien."

Serena curled into a ball, got under her blankets, and laid her had on her pillows. Luna looked at her sadly and said, "Maybe you should get some sleep."

"I guess…night."

The next morning, Serena woke with a headache. She felt as if she hadn't slept. All night long she had been twisting and turning. Images of her and Darien played in her head. In the shadows Jason would appear, never far behind.

"Wake up Serena. You don't want to be late for school" said Luna.

Serena just mumbled a reply and pulled the covers over her head.

She hadn't even been thinking about school. In fact, she had forgotten all about it. Her thoughts were consumed by Darien and Jason. Round and round they went, chasing one another. She didn't feel like going to school yet she knew she couldn't stay. She had been away for too long. Perhaps going would be a good thing. She could talk to Ami, Lita, and Mina. Maybe they would have some advice that would help her choose what to do.

* * *

At School

Serena was in a daze. Time seemed to move slowly. Mina and Ami kept giving her worried glances. It matter. Soon enough she would tell them what was going on. Just when Serena thought class was never going to end, the bell rang. She gathered her things and met up with the girls for lunch.

"Okay Serena, what is going on?" asked a concerned Mina.

"Did something happen yesterday? You were suppose to meet me but I couldn't find you anywhere" commented Ami.

"I talked to Darien yesterday" Serena said.

"When?"

"What did he say?"

"Where?"

All three said simultaneously. So Serena recounted everything that had happened after she had left the arcade yesterday. When she was done, there was silence. They were trying to process what Serena had just said. The first to recover was Lita.

"What are you going to do?"

"Like I told Luna yesterday, I don't know."

"I agree with Luna. First you have to decide if you are going to give Darien a second chance and forgive him. Depending on what you decide, you can decide what to do with Jason" commented Mina.

"Maybe before you decide on Darien, you can deal with Jason first" stated Ami.

"What do you mean Ami?" said Serena.

"Well thing about it. Do you think you'll see Jason again? How will you have a relationship with him if you don't see him?"

"He doesn't necessarily have to live here so they can have relationship. They can have a long distance relationship" said Lita.

"Perhaps, but relationships in themselves are hard enough. Now imagine long distance relationship. Besides, they hardly ever last" rebuttal Ami.

"Not true. Some of them work out you know" countered Mina.

"Making that the exception not the rule. Furthermore, wouldn't you like to see the one you love every day? You can't do that if you are in a long distance relationship" stated Ami.

"Ami's right. I mean," began Serena, "I really want to believe Jason when he said that would see each other again, but…realistically no. No I don't think I will. I haven't even heard from him. I emailed him the other day and even tried to call and nothing."

"I'm sorry to hear that Serena," said Mina, "So then what will you do now?"

"I don't know. Any suggestions?"

"Actually yes, but you might not like it. Plus it's pretty out there" said Lita.

"It's okay. Whatever it is you can tell me. I won't get mad or anything like that."

"Well maybe, and I mean a big maybe, you might want to consider working things out with Darien. I'm not saying you have to get back together right away or anything like that. You guys can take it slow. Sort of like starting from the beginning. See if he meant what he said. Let him prove it to you."

Serena was quiet, pondering what Lita had just said. It did kind of make sense.

"We know that he hurt you Serena. There's no excuse for what he did. At all," said Mina, "_However_, we also know that you love him and care about him. Just like he loves you. I don't know, maybe you should consider what Lita saying. I mean it's you and Darien. Besides, you did say you didn't think you would see Jason again."

"Of course, ultimately, you decide Serena. We just want you to be happy" added Ami.

Serena still hadn't said anything. Lita, Mina, and Ami were looking at her, waiting for her response. After what felt like forever, Serena said, "Okay maybe. I'll think about it."

"Are you sure?" they asked her.

"Yes," she said with a smile, "It does make sense. But I don't know yet. I'll think about it. And hey, I now have some sort of plan."

They laughed at that. Hopefully things would work out.

"We better start walking. We don't want to be late for class" Ami said.

Serena, Lita, and Mina sighed.

"Why can't we just stay here?" grumbled Serena.

"Come on, let's go" said Ami.

They gathered their things and started walking to their class.

"Oh before I forget, do think you guys can accompany me over to Rei's?"

"No problem" said Lita.

"Thanks. We can go after school. Is that okay?"

"Sounds good" said Mina.

* * *

At the Temple

They were standing outside on the steps. Waiting.

"Here we are. You ready?" asked Lita.

"Uhh…yes?" replied Serena in an unconvinced tone.

"It's going to be okay. Take a deep breath and go for it" said Mina.

"We'll be right here waiting for you" added Ami.

Serena nodded. "Right okay. I'll be back."

Taking a deep breath she began walking up the steps. Ami, Mina, and Lita sat down on the steps trying to make themselves as comfortable as they could. Once at the top, Serena glanced at her friends again. They smiled encouragingly at her and she walked in.

Rei was rearranging some things when she saw Serena.

"Umm…hey" she said awkwardly.

"Hi…uhh I wanted to call you so we could talk but didn't know if I should. I figured it wouldn't have been a good idea…" said Rei.

"Yeah probably not."

They stood there in an uncomfortable silence. All Serena was thinking was that had had one too many of these conversations. She really hoped this would be the last of the awkward conversations. Rei, on the other hand, hoped that this went better than the last time they saw each other.

"Why don't you sit down?" suggested Rei.

Serena complied and sat down. Rei sat in front of her.

"Rei I-" began Serena.

"No wait Serena. I should go first. I need to say this. I know I made a mistake. A huge, horribly mistake. I also know that you may never forgive me. If that's the case then I will learn to live with it. But I want you to know that I would _never_ hurt you on purpose. You accused me of being jealous of you and that I wanted to take Darien away from you. You were right, if only slightly. I was jealous. I couldn't understand why he chose you and not me. Especially since you guys couldn't even stand each other. Even so, I could see you were happy with him. Despite that, I was still somewhat jealous but I wasn't going to jeopardize your happiness because of it. Besides, in time I realized I didn't like Darien that much. Well at least not to the extent that you do. I soon found Chad though. He made me so happy. When he broke p with me, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do."

Serena interrupted to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you two had broken up."

"Yeah we did, but you don't have to apologize. You are the last person who should be doing that."

"Still…"

Serena could picture Rei all too clearly. She probably portrayed indifference when Chad told her, but Serena knew that inside Rei was breaking into pieces. It had been hard for Rei to admit she cared deeply about Chad. Once she did though, she changed. And it was because of Chad. It broke Serena's heart to learn that they were no longer together. Even though Rei was the reason her and Darien were no longer together, her heart ached for her.

"Yes well…" Rei cleared her throat and began talking again, "Anyway, Darien was at the park but I hadn't seen him. He was so nice to me. I don't know what came over me, maybe I wanted to see what it was like to be loved the way Darien loves you. After that, everything happened so fast. One second you were there and then you weren't. Darien was running after you and me realizing what a horrible thing I had done. I had inflicted the pain that I was feeling when Chad broke up with me onto you. Only worse. Am I right?"

"Yes. There are no words to describe what I felt that day."

"I thought as much. I wish I could give you more, but all I can say is I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. Though, I do know that you should try working things out with Darien. Don't let what happened between us ruin what you guys have. It meant absolutely nothing. He loves you so much. He only has eyes for you. I see the way he looks at you when you're not looking. I can't even describe it."

"I don't know Rei. It's easier said than done. Before this, I wouldn't have doubted what you are telling me about him. His feelings for me. But now…"

"I know. It won't be easy, but don't give up."

"We'll see."

"And us? What's going to happen? Is there any way you can ever forgive me?"

"Maybe. Who knows? For now let's just see how things go, ok?"

"Okay."

"Though, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that you will stay away from Darien."

"I promise."

"Okay."

After that, neither had anything more to say. They sat in silence for a couple a seconds.

"Well I should probably go…the girls are waiting and yeah…" said Serena.

"Oh. Okay."

"Umm…I'll see you around?"

Rei nodded.

"Alright. Bye."

* * *

Outside

"I wonder if they worked things out?" Mina wondered aloud.

"There's no screaming, so that's good right?" said Lita.

"I guess…"

"There's Serena" said Ami.

All three stood up and waited for Serena to reach them.

"Well?" asked Mina.

"It went okay. I'm not sure if I'll forgive her yet but I'm glad we talked."

"That's good, right?" said Lita.

"I guess so. Therefore I propose we go to the arcade. I think I deserve a milkshake."

At that all four laughed and headed towards the arcade.

* * *

They were walking into the arcade, talking animatedly when Serena froze.

"What's wrong Serena?" asked Ami.

Just when she thought things were turning around and couldn't get worse. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing...She pointed towards the counter where Andrew was.

All three looked, but still didn't understand.

"What?" asked Lita.

"Jason" whispered Serena.

* * *

Well there you. I hope you liked it! Please review^^

Oh also I would like to know what you guys think. I'm debating whether Serena should end up with Darien or Jason. I can't seem to decide. I would love to hear from you guys and what you suggest. Thanks! I appreciate it.

-Girl of Darkness


	12. Chapter 12

Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long. I'm really trying to finish this as fast as I can before I get swamped in school work. I really don't want to keep you guys waiting long for an update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

* * *

Chapter 12

Darien was getting ready to go out. He had planned to go to the arcade and was hoping to see Serena there. Maybe he could convince her to go for some ice cream or something. He was feeling hopeful. Serena hadn't necessarily forgiven him but after their last encounter, he was feeling pretty good. She still cared about him. He knew it. That kiss, it was…indescribable. That confirmed what he had begun to doubt: her feelings for him. He was not going to give up. No matter what.

Satisfied with how he looked, he grabbed his jacket and walked out while thinking, 'Today will be a good day.'

* * *

"Jason?!" shouted Lita.

"Shh!" said Serena, trying to lower her friend's voice.

"Whoa" said Mina.

"Oh dear" said Ami.

"What am I going to do?" said a still whispering Serena.

"Serena you didn't do him justice. He's gorgeous" stated Mina.

At that exact moment, Jason turned and saw her.

"Serena!" he exclaimed happily.

"Jason. Hi" she replied.

Serena walked over to him as he too walked towards her. In the center they met. He put his arm around her waist and kissed her.

As fate would have it, Darien walked in at that precise moment.

His cheery disposition quickly plummeted. He stood frozen on the exact spot where Serena had been a mere seconds ago. The world receded and all he could see was Serena and some other guy. Kissing. His heart stopped. It was being ripped out and stepped on. He couldn't express what he was feeling. He couldn't put it into words. He thought of what Serena had said to him.

"_You have to know how much seeing you kiss Rei hurt me. It hurt so much. I couldn't bear it…"_

So this is what she meant. He understood now. He understood it all too well.

Jason pulled his lips only centimeters away from hers and whispered, "Hi."

He gave her one last, quick kiss and let her go.

"After you left," he began, "I realized I didn't want to be away from you. I went home, arranged some things and flew out to see you. I'm sorry for not answering your calls or emails, but I got caught up in the arrangements. Also, I wanted to surprise you."

"I don't know what to say. Consider me surprised. I mean…I…umm…" she looked towards her friends for help and saw him.

This could not be happening. Why did things keep getting so complicated? Things were being set into motion and she had no control over them anymore.

"Darien…umm…how…how long have you been standing there?" Serena asked.

Maybe, just maybe, he hadn't seen anything hoped Serena.

"Not that long…"

"Oh. So, umm…did you see…" trailed off Serena.

He didn't say anything, but she could see pain in his eyes. He was trying to hide it, but she could see it.

This was not how she wanted him to find out. She felt has if their roles had been reversed. The pain she had felt when she had seen him with Rei was now being felt by Darien. Rei had said that she had inflected her pain onto Serena, and she had done the same to Darien. Serena had never wanted to do that to him.

Andrew, Lita, Mina, and Ami didn't know what to say or do. The whole situation was complicated. They could see Serena's confused expression, trying to sort things out. On the one hand was Jason, and on the other Darien, while Serena was stuck in the middle.

"So…" began Darien.

"Umm…Darien meet Jason. He's my…uhh..we met while I was away…"

Darien just stared. This was the guy she had kissed. He remembered now. Andrew had said something like that when she had first arrived.

"Umm…Jason this is Darien. He's my…umm…well we've known each other for awhile."

Neither Darien nor Jason said anything. A small nod was all either of them did to acknowledge the other.

"Serena, can we talk to you for a second?" asked Mina.

"Yes" she hastily replied.

She began walking towards Mina but stopped. She turned, looked at Andrew and said, "Andrew, think you can keep things under control for awhile?"

"No problem."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, Serena and the girls left the arcade.

Throughout this exchange, Jason and Darien hadn't uttered a word. They remained exactly where they were, staring at one another.

"Well…" began Andrew, "This is…interesting no?"

"So you're Darien. Hmm figures" said Jason, as if Andrew hadn't said anything.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Darien replied coldly.

"Oh nothing. I just don't understand what Serena saw in you."

"Listen Jake-"

"It's Jason actually."

"Whatever. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I love Serena. You know nothing about me and her. I _will_ get her back. No matter what, so back off."

"Actually, I know enough. I know that you broke her heart and basically lost her. I, on the other hand, _don't_ plan on losing her. So no, I won't back off."

"I won't go down without a fight. I made a mistake. I'm going to do whatever I can to rectify that. I won't lose her."

"I don't think you get it. You lost her already. The moment you kissed Rei and broke her heart. She doesn't trust you. I don't think she ever will."

"I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself but I'll tell you this, she doesn't need you anymore. She has me now and I won't make your 'mistake.'"

Darien's body was tense. His eyes were cold and hard. They appeared to be holding back a storm. After what Jason said, he snapped. He wanted nothing more than to punch him senseless.

Andrew had been watching Darien intently. He knew Darien would snap and do something irrational. He saw the moment it happened. Darien had begun to walk towards Jason, when Andrew intervened.

"Dare, no. You don't want to do this. You're not thinking clearly. You need to relax and calm down."

He kept watching Darien's eyes. Waiting. Soon, there it was. They slowly gentled, like the calm after a fierce hurricane.

"You're right Drew. Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Meanwhile

Unaware to what was going inside, the girl's were having a discussion of their own.

"Wow. I did not see that coming. Who knew?" said Lita.

"What an interesting twist" added Mina.

"I don't find it interesting at all. What am I going to do?" said Serena.

"Whatever you want Serena. Do what you think is best" Ami said.

"I'm back to square one. This sucks."

"Not necessarily. I mean, I know we said that you should try to work things out with Darien, but maybe we were out of place. Perhaps we were too hasty before. I don't know, maybe you should give Jason a chance. You care about him and Jason is here. For you" said Mina.

"Mina's right. Jason seems like a nice guy. He obviously cares about you because he came all this way to see you" Ami said.

"Plus he's hot" added Lita.

All four of them laughed at that.

As the laughter died down, Serena said, "You guys are right. I really need to stop freaking out. Whoever I chose will come to me eventually right? I shouldn't panic or freak out. Whatever happens will happen."

"But just between us, you're picking Jason right?" asked Lita.

"Lita!" said Mina.

"What?"

"She's obviously going to pick Darien."

Serena laughed. She knew they were joking around so she couldn't help but laugh.

"You guys are ridiculous but I love you anyways" said Serena.

As they walked into the arcade again, everything seemed eerily calm and silent. Darien was sitting on one side of the counter while Jason sat on the other. Andrew was standing in the middle, cleaning his spotless counter.

"Oh Serena, I didn't hear you come in. Everything okay?" asked Andrew.

"Yes. Is everything okay here?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uhh…yeah" he answered while glancing at both men.

"That's good then."

"Yup."

"Serena, we are going to go grab a booth" said Ami.

"Oh okay. I'll join you guys in a sec."

"That's fine."

The three of them sauntered off to go sit at their favorite booth. Meanwhile, Serena stood there pondering who to approach first. There was Jason, who had come to visit her. She obviously had to go talk to him first. Yet there was Darien, who she had a history with. She had to explain things to him. Whoever she talked to first, it was as if she slapped the other on the face. She felt like whoever she talked to first signified who she cared about most therefore making her choice to the million dollar question: Jason or Darien.

Jason stood up and walked over to Serena, making the decision for her. She didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

"It's getting late and I have to go."

"So soon?"

"Yeah, I need to get settled in."

It occurred to Serena that she had no idea where he was staying. Was he staying at a hotel? If so, then he couldn't afford to stay long.

"Where are you staying?"

"I have an aunt living here. I hadn't visited her in awhile so apart from seeing you, I thought it would be good to come visit her."

"Oh. You never mentioned you hadn't an aunt here."

"All part of the surprise."

"Oh."

"Listen, I really got to go. Can I call you later tonight?"

"Sure, I'm going to be home soon enough."

"Okay, bye."

He kissed her and left the arcade.

She watched him leave and then turned her attention to Darien. He hadn't moved. He sat, hunched over his coffee. Now would be a good time to talk o him. But what would she say? How would she start?

Before walking over to him, she walked over to her friends.

"Hey guys" she said.

"What's up, Rena?" asked Lita.

"Umm…well I think I'm going to go talk to Darien. I should have told him about Jason before but I didn't and now I feel horrible. I should explain things to him."

"You really don't need to explain anything Serena" said Ami.

"I know but I want to."

"Well take your time. We'll wait for you" added Mina.

"No, you don't have to wait. I'll probably be tired and go home anyways. Besides, you guys probably have better things to do. I don't want to keep you waiting. I don't know how long this will take."

"Not really, but if you don't want us to wait…" said Lita.

"I'll feel guilty making you wait for me."

"You care too much about others Sere. You shouldn't feel guilty you know? We're your friends and we want to wait for you but if you want us to leave we will. Now go talk to Darien" said Mina.

"Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked away and headed to the counter where Darien was sitting. She sat next to him.

From the corner of his eye Darien could see her walking towards to him. She sat next to him but didn't say anything. He wondered if she wanted him to speak first or if she was gathering her thoughts before she spoke. He figured the latter because soon enough, she began speaking.

"So…that was Jason."

"I gathered as much" he said kind of coldly.

"Right. Of course."

Darien glanced at her. She looked lost and confused. She was obviously trying to figure out what to say to him. He clearly wasn't making things easier for her. He sighed. He was being a jerk to her and he had no right to do so. He was jealous, that much was clear. However, he didn't mean he had to be a jerk to Serena. This was his own doing after all. So he tried again.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be acting like this. I just wasn't expecting that I guess…I had a whole different day pictured in my head and this was definitely not what I had pictured."

"I'm sorry Darien. You weren't supposed to find out this way. I should have told you before. I wanted to tell you the other night but before I told you, I wanted to figure things out between us and- and I just-"

"Serena, relax. It's okay. I understand. You don't have to explain."

They fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence before Darien spoke again.

"So…you two got pretty close while you were over there?"

"I guess. I mean he was there you know. He was so nice and caring. He helped me so much. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met him."

With every word she said, Darien's heart sank a little deeper. She obviously cared for him, perhaps to a point where she could easily fall in love with him. Jason had been there to pick up the pieces he had left her in. That was something he could never take back. Although, he was grateful to Jason. He had protected Serena and made her happy.

"I'll have to thank Jason one of these days."

"I don't understand. Why?"

"Because he was there to fix you when I broke you. He made you whole again. That's something I'll always be grateful for. He made you happy when you were hurting. It makes me happy to know that someone was there for you, when I couldn't be. No matter what happens Serena, I'll always care about you. I'm glad to know that there will be someone to protect you, even if that someone isn't me."

He turned to look at her and gave her the gentlest smile. In his eyes, Serena saw nothing but sincerity. With a few small tears in her eyes, Serena hugged Darien. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her back.

"Thank you" he whispered in his ear.

She let go, but didn't necessarily pull away.

"I need to go Darien."

They booth turned towards the booth were Mina, Ami, and Lita were sitting, except it was empty.

"Guess they left already."

"They didn't wait for you? I figured they would."

"I told them not to. I didn't know how this was going to turn out nor how long it was going to take. I didn't want to keep them waiting."

He chuckled. "You're always looking after people Serena. You should let someone look after you for a change."

'I did once.'

"I'll keep that in mind. 'Till then, I really have to go home. It's getting late."

"I'll walk you."

"What? No, it's okay. It's not that far."

"It's far enough. And like you said, it's getting late."

"Fine. Let's go."

Darien grabbed his jacket and followed her lead.

"Bye Andrew!" yelled Serena.

"Bye. Be careful!"

Andrew wondered what would happen now. He decided to give them space so he had left them alone. Although he had seen that hug they had shared. He wondered as he watched them exit his arcade.

"Wow, it's colder than I thought" said Serena.

"Here."

Darien took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Aren't you going to get cold?"

"I'm good. Don't worry."

They walked at a leisurely place. Darien had his hands on his pockets to keep them warm and began to talk. Serena hugged his jacket tighter around her. It smelled like him. His warmth was still there, faint, but there. Maybe, if she hugged it close enough, she could pretend she was in his arms again. She sneaked a glance at him. His hair had fallen across his face. As usual, it covered his eyes but he seemed unaware of it, like he was accustomed to it. It made him seem mysterious and sexy.

"Are you looking?"

"Wh-what?" she said nervously as she blushed.

"Are you looking? At the stars? They seem brighter tonight, don't you agree?"

"Oh, umm yeah."

He turned to look at her. "What's wrong? You're blushing."

"N-no I'm not."

"Yes you are," he said chuckling, "You're actually blushing even more now."

She responded by sticking out her tongue at him and mumbled, "Am not."

"It's alright Serena. i don't mind. I always thought you looked even more beautiful when you blushed."

This, of course, caused her to blush even more. She turned to say witty remark to him but stopped when she saw him shivering.

"Darien! You're shivering. Why didn't you say anything!" she said as she was shrugging out of his jacket.

Darien put his arms around her to prevent her from taking off his jacket. Meanwhile saying, "Don't be ridiculous Serena. You'll freeze if you take it off. I'm fine. There was a small breeze, that's all. No more shivering see?"

He took off his arms off her and continued walking.

"Hey, you coming?" he asked when he realized that she wasn't walking next to him.

He walked back to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Put your arms around me again" she whispered.

"What? I can't hear you."

She looked him in the eyes and once again said, "Put your arms around me."

Darien stared at her, not really sure how to react. Slowly, he put his arms around her. Serena felt his warmth spread through her like fire. She liked being in his arms again.

"Are you still cold?" she asked him.

"Not anymore."

She smiled. "I'm glad."

Arm in arm, they walked towards Serena's house.

"You know, the stars do seem brighter" commented Serena.

"I told you. So why were you blushing? You obviously weren't paying attention to what I was saying. What were you thinking about? I'm curious."

"N-nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything."

"You're blushing again. Now I'm really curious."

"Well I'm not telling you."

"Come on. Please?"

"No. It's embarrassing."

"I'm not going to laugh or anything."

Serena stood quietly. They were in front of her house already. Darien was looking at her, waiting for her response.

"You."

She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and walked into her house.

As soon as Serena walked in, her mom called her into the kitchen.

"Yes mom?"

"Jason called. He's called two times already."

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot Jason was going to call me. Did he say when he was going to call me back?"

"Here. He gave me this number so you could call him back."

"Thanks mom. I'm going to go call him right now."

She went up to her room, picked up her phone, and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Jason?"

"Serena. Hey. I called you like two times but your mom said you weren't home yet."

"Yeah sorry. I just got in. I got caught up in something."

Silence.

"Should I just call you tomorrow then?"

"No! No. Let's talk. I'm not busy anymore. Are you settled in?"

"Pretty much. It didn't take that long."

"Was your aunt happy to see you?"

"She was very happy."

"I'm glad."

"Hey, umm are you busy tomorrow?"

"No. I usually have Saturdays free. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something."

"Sure. Why don't we hang around the city? Even though you've been here before but it could still be fun."

"That sounds great. It's a date. Good night."

"Good night."

She hung up the phone and said aloud, "A date?"

* * *

So I'm still debating on whether if Serena should get back together with Darien or Jason. It seems you guys are split so I would really love more input from you guys, my readers. I would really appreciate it.

Don't forget to review!

-Girl of Darkness


	13. Author's Note

Hey guys,

Okay so I know that you guys are probably disappointed because this isn't a new chapter but I felt that I should let you guys know what is going on. I haven't forgotten this story and I will update it but as of right now I'm putting it on hold. I know I've already taken some time updating but as of right now, I've hit a block and I don't know how to continue. I've written who knows how many times the next couple of chapters and I'm just not liking how they are turning out. For some reason I can't seem to decide which direction I want to take this story and whether or not I want to make a sequel, which I guess would depend on what Serena decides. Until I get a clear idea of the conclusion I'm going to hold off on the chapters. I think that's the reason why the ones I've tried writing aren't that great. I don't feel it's fair to you guys if I just update for the sake of updating. The chapters wouldn't be as good as they should be and I don't want to disappoint me lovely readers. So far the chapters I've written seem to be rambling on and on so I've hold of in posting them. I hope you guys can understand and I promise I won't give up. I'll keep trying and I'll try to update as fast as I can. If you guys can just bear with me a little longer, I'll do what I can to keep my promise :)

Mucho love,

Girl of Darkness


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